Genesis Zero -- old version
by Eremittens
Summary: [Old version, see most recent update for reboot info!]
1. The Hand of Fate

A boy stood on a white beach, watching the still-luminous sun as it began to fall below the horizon. Birds flew above the vast stretch of water, mere silhouettes in the brilliant light. Small waves repeatedly climbed up the pale, seemingly crystalline sand, then falling back into their cold resting place.

Two others were there with him, a brother and a sister, actually. Another male, being a few years older, possessed sand-colored hair and dark blue eyes that were almost black. The girl was considerably shorter than both of them, with chin-length black hair and wide, violet eyes.

It was when the boy looked at where the older one had been standing a few seconds before that he realized the space beside him was now empty, with not even footprints remaining. The girl was still there, although her expression had changed from awe to depression in the blink of an eye. He wanted to say something, but nothing came. The brilliant light in the sky had faded now, leaving the endless sea cloaked in darkness.

"Osamu!"

Osamu Mikumo, fifteen years old, was jolted awake by his name being called. He felt the last scraps of the dream slipping away as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and proceeded to reach for his glasses. As he placed them on the bridge of his nose, he heard his name again, this time accompanied with a knock on the door.

" _Osamu!_ Are you awake yet?"

Osamu jumped out of bed after a quick glance at the clock, which read seven-twelve. School started at eight-thirty at his junior high, and it was about a ten minute walk there. He liked to leave the house at eight, in order to avoid the risk of being late. He had plenty of time to get ready, so long as he didn't distract himself, which was a relief.

"Y-yeah, I'm up," he replied to the female voice, stretching his arms as he spoke. "I've still got to shower, but I'll be quick."

"Alright. Just don't take too long!" The girl outside laughed in response, and footsteps were audible as she walked back downstairs.

After a short shower, Osamu dressed in the typical Mikado District school uniform and brushed his hair. Still feeling somewhat tired, due to the fact that he had stayed up far later than usual the previous night, studying for an exam that was to take place in a few days, the brown-haired boy pushed his door open and headed down the stairs.

In the kitchen, a short girl with black hair was the only other person present. On the table sat two bowls of steamed rice, and a plate of _tamagoyaki_.

"Hey, Chika," Osamu greeted her, grabbing one of the omelet-like foods off of the table. "Did mom already leave for work?"

The girl, whom he had addressed as 'Chika', nodded. "You just missed her, actually."

"Hm." Osamu didn't provide a spoken response, busy with his food. The dream he had woken up from was bothering him, especially since he was almost certain that Chika was in it.

The young girl had been living in the Mikumo household for about a half of a year at this point. Chika's mother had died when she was very young, so she never knew her very well. Her father, as well as Osamu's, was both killed in the line of duty not long after this event, having served in the military. Even so, Chika still had an older brother, Rinji Amatori, who served as her guardian for the following years.

However, Rinji mysteriously vanished one day, not leaving any clues to his whereabouts. He hadn't appeared to have taken anything from the house, either, which seemed strange. There were no reports of anyone leaving the walls the day he disappeared, which led a few people to believe that he was hiding somewhere within the city. However, those who knew him well had come to accept he was gone now, and there was nothing that could be done.

That had happened about six months ago. Eight years before, a large-scale assumed kidnapping led to nearly thirty people in total, most of them being children, vanishing from their districts within the span of a week.

Chika trailing a few steps behind, Osamu exited the small house after locking the door. All houses were small in their district, since it was one of the smaller areas, and there were still a lot of people to shelter. The military base took up a considerable amount of space, and yet not one person had questioned it. The soldiers who risked their lives outside of the city were the people's hope, and the only defense they had against the humanoid alien race that were eventually called "Neighbors". Therefore, no one dared to oppose their actions.

A person had to be at least sixteen years of age to enlist. Osamu had decided that he wanted to join them not long after his dad died, although his motives were not to seek revenge, but to prevent other families from losing people as his had.

 _One more year_... He thought to himself, glancing over his shoulder at Chika. She was another reason that led to his motivation to join the military, along with his other family and friends. Despite the fact that they were responsible for the death of his father, Osamu didn't hold a grudge against Neighbors. He figured that humans could be good or evil, so Neighbors would be the same, wouldn't they? There _had_ to be Neighbors out there that would rather help humanity, or not even get involved in the fighting. Naturally, not many people agreed with him, but his opinion had never changed.

There was no conversation as they continued on; Osamu was busy in his head, and Chika never talked very much on a normal basis, so it didn't feel awkward for either of them.

Very few cars passed by on the streets, but the sidewalks were full of people travelling to various places. Not many people owned cars in their district, not only because of the cost, but because it was far more convenient to walk. The Mikado District wasn't exactly a big place, which deemed having a car as unnecessary. At least, that was what most people thought.

In what you could call eight or nine minutes, the pale-colored school building loomed in front of them. Students were filing through the main doors, chatting among themselves. Osamu and Chika made their way up the stairs, and continued through a wide hallway before parting ways.

Chika waved as she took a left turn, down a smaller passageway, while Osamu's class was upstairs. "Don't forget that we're walking home with Izuho today, since her parents are out tonight!"

Osamu returned the gesture, halting his steps for a few seconds. "Yeah, I remember. Bring her with you; her class is closer to yours."

"Mm-hm," Chika replied cheerfully over her shoulder. "See you!"

Osamu was continuing down the main hallway that he had started on, passing by the principal's office as he went. There was a strange man inside, one that Osamu had never seen before, talking with the staff. He had light brown, perhaps even ginger-ish colored hair, and wore a blue jacket that carried the vibe of a uniform, but Osamu had never seen any like it before.

 _A new employee_...? The brown-haired teen thought as he unconsciously slowed his pace, curiosity peaked. However, even though the man's back was to the window that allowed people to see into the front room, he looked pretty young to be working at a school.

 _It's probably not important_ , Osamu decided after a second or so, not intrigued any longer. He continued on his way, going up the stairs that led to his classroom. He was a few minutes early, which made him quite satisfied, when he reached the class, although most people had already arrived.

Osamu sat in silence, patiently awaiting the loud ring of the school's bell. His teacher was seated at her desk, organizing papers in the drawers below, a bored expression on her face, which was amusing to look at. Others were still coming in through the narrow door, usually looking tired or rushed, which was also somewhat entertaining.

After a few more minutes, Osamu glanced at the clock mounted on the left wall, to see that it read eight thirty-six. The first bell should have gone off at approximately eight-thirty, and the late bell was scheduled for eight thirty-five.

 _Why didn't it ring_...? Osamu asked himself, wondering if it had anything to do with the person he had seen in the office. Meanwhile, the teacher had got up and walked out of the room, perhaps going downstairs to ask about the bell. It was probably just broken, and in that case, the staff would simply announce the changing of subjects over the intercom.

Not expecting it whatsoever, Osamu jumped at the screaming noise of the emergency siren. The students around him froze, staring at each other in a mixture of shock and sudden fear, until a computerized voice rose above the noise.

" _Warning. Large amount of Neighbors spotted near the city. Please evacuate to the underground shelters. Warning. Large amount of Neighbors spot...ted ne...ar... the... ci...ty..._ "

The voice began to glitch, until it stopped, along with the siren. Nothing but silence filled the room. A strange, horrifying silence, it was. And then, it was broken.

A loud explosion could be heard from across the city. Osamu rapidly got up from his chair, and followed his panicked classmates to the window. What he saw, and what they saw, was a sight that no one had ever wanted to witness, at least, in their lifetime. He felt like his heart had stopped, and his blood had run cold.

Nearly the entire side of the east wall had been demolished. It wasn't a hole, and it wasn't that the gate had been blown off. The entire area had been reduced to rubble. Screams of terror filled the classroom, and for Osamu, no words would come.

"Oh my god, they broke the wall!"

"M-My house is over there!"

"This isn't happening… This isn't happening... This isn't real..."

Osamu was shaking. Even though he lived on the opposite end, and his mother worked in the southern area, there was no telling what would happen if an army of Neighbors invaded the district.

Backing away from the window, and unsuccessfully trying to stop the trembling in his limbs, only one thought echoed in his head.

 _We're all going to die_.


	2. Yuuichi Jin

People were running out of the door like disturbed bees. It was a mess, with students being pushed over desks and chairs. If the chaos continued in it's current manner, someone was going to get hurt.

Osamu wanted to follow them, but he was afraid that the evacuation would either take too long, or it would be a dangerous mob of people. As he turned to face the crowded door, a shaky voice came over the intercom.

"D-Don't panic," was what she ordered, the secretary speaking obviously scared stiff, just as the students. "Report to t-the west wing, j-just like the d-drills, an-"

It went quiet for a few seconds. For the listeners, the time felt like an eternity. A static noise came through the speakers, and Osamu could feel his heart beating in his chest.

Suddenly, another person spoke into the intercom. This time, it was a male, who sounded much calmer than the secretary had. "Students and staff, do not leave the building. Your underground 'shelters' are not safe. You go there, you die. Understand?"

Everyone who had been trying to get out of the room had frozen, as well as the people still in it. No one could really process that statement, since all their lives, they were taught how safe the shelters were supposed to be.

Shortly after the walled districts were constructed, the government created areas underground each one, which were much, much smaller than the size of the actual city. They were a last resort, in case the walls were ever penetrated, and there were emergency supplies down there, but no permanent shelters, and a limited food supply. According to the higher-ups, the Neighbors had no knowledge of them, but the person speaking seemed to be challenging those words.

The voice spoke a second time. "Once again, going underground is suicide. Don't leave the building. If you value your life, stay where you are."

A person in Osamu's class gritted his teeth. "Bullshit! You're stupid if you actually believe thi-"

A second explosion cut him off.

Osamu whipped around, turning back to the window. He felt the dread inside of him grow as he stared outside, and watched the earth shake beneath the all the construction.

"W-What's going on...?" He stammered, at this point, barely able to stand on his own two feet. He had lived his entire life without true fear, but everything had changed in a matter of minutes.

The people in the room across the hall had started screaming, which was audible even from behind their door. No one dared to step out now, but while straining their ears to catch the smallest words, were able to understand at least one line.

"T-The ground is falling!"

With that sentence, the students in Osamu's class reached their limit. People abandoned their friends, fleeing from the room in desperate attempts to escape the school, despite the warnings. Although, their goal was probably to reach their families, or even the military, rather than going into shelter.

"N-No way..." He murmured, catching on immediately. "No way was that... underground..."

Osamu ran across the hallway to the other classroom, where people were still attempting to get out, and a few were still frozen by the window. He stopped once he caught a glimpse of what was going on in the city, not sure exactly how to react to such a sight.

The heart of the city had caved in, which was also the exact location where the shelter sat beneath the surface. Buildings fell under, taking hundreds of people with them.

"I-I don't care anymore!" A panicked girl shouted, slowly moving towards the door. "Forget this! I'm getting out of here!"

She turned around, only to run into a fairly tall man, most likely around twenty years of age, that was blocking the doorway.

"Move, n-now!" She demanded, her eyes glittering with terror. "If you want to d-die here, go ahead! Just let me leave!"

The person in front of her took his teal-colored sunglasses from the top of his head, and placed them in their designated spot on his face. "I'm afraid I can't do that, miss," he laughed, smiling rather brightly for Mikado District's current state.

The girl took a step back, putting her hand on a desk. "Who the hell do you think you are? You don't work here!"

He smiled again, which made nearly everyone else flinch. "I'm a person on your side, and you can trust me. If you want to survive, listen to me."

"H-Hey!" A boy near the back of the class pointed in the man's direction. "You're the person who spoke over the intercom!"

Sudden realization hit Osamu like a brick.

 _That's him!_ He told himself, narrowing his eyes. _He was in the office this morning!_

"Oh, so you recognized me?" He tipped his head, and then stretched his arms. "Doesn't matter, anyway. I don't think it does."

"Get out of my way!" The girl who had bumped into him before swung a fist at the jacket-wearing stranger, ignoring all sense of reasoning.

Osamu's eyed widened, expecting the unsuspecting man to take a blow directly to his face, which would probably cause the students' emotions to go to hell. However, in less than a second, his prediction was proven wrong.

"W-What...?" The girl stared in horror.

He blocked it. A punch that was fueled by a mixture of panic and rage had been blocked by a single hand.

She slowly lowered her hand, now visibly shaking, and as pale as the moon. Her mouth gaped open, although she said nothing.

"Right, then." The man turned his attention back to the remaining people, acting like nothing had happened. "Neighbors have entered the city. We need everyone in the bottom level, in case of aerial assaults. The other classes are being taken care of, as well. Any questions?"

Several people tried to speak.

He ignored them. "No? Okay, come with me." He faced the door, and waved his hand in a motion that signaled the people in the room to follow.

"Who are you even wi-" Osamu began to ask a question, but was cut off as the man turned around to face him, but in a moment, he looked extremely shocked, which didn't do well for the students' mental states.

"Get down and cover your ears! _Now!"_ He demanded, jumping to the floor, and slamming the two closest people down with him, the girl who had insulted him, as well as Osamu, covering one of each person's ears with both of his hands.

Osamu had so many things he needed to ask, and he was prepared to try and stand up again, but an insanely powerful explosion hit the building, causing him to cover his other ear in a flash, terrified of what would happen if he didn't.

Pain raced through his body, and he gritted his teeth as he felt his arms give out under him. He shut his eyes tight, not wanting to see what events had unfolded in the building.

When the smoke cleared, Osamu looked around as he felt the hand being lifted off of his ear. Whatever had hit the school had not been near the area Osamu was currently in, which was a relief. Even so, two of the four walls in the room were destroyed, the window had been broken, and pieces of the ceiling had fallen, one of them only a few inches from where the glasses-wearing boy lay.

A faint ringing echoed in his ears, and Osamu hoped that his hearing hadn't been severely damaged. The man who had held him down was standing now, somehow unharmed, and the girl next to him was in a terrible state.

A light had come down and fallen on her lower back area, and the ear that had been left uncovered was slowly oozing blood. Her eyes were far larger than they had been before, and her fingers twitched when she tried to speak.

"H-Help... m-...e..." She rasped, blood also coming from her mouth. Her eyes glittered with pain, and she looked so desperate that it was enough to make Osamu's stomach tighten up. He tried to stand up, as the stranger had, but the impact from the explosion caused his muscles to scream out in protect when they were used. He collapsed to the ground, feeling half-dead and useless.

The man looked down at Osamu, his sunglasses clouded with dust. "Can you hear me, four-eyes?"

Osamu, not lifting his horrified gaze from the severely injured girl, nodded slowly. "Y-Yes, sir..." His voice trailed off as he watched the girl's limbs twitch randomly, and he felt like he might be sick. "S-Sir, c-can you help t-the-"

"It won't matter," the man interrupted before Osamu was able to finish. "She's going to die."

Osamu was almost disgusted at his cold reply. Summoning any energy he had left, with the help of a broken chair, he staggered to his feet. "She's still alive!"

The man glanced at the girl, who looked up at him like she was petrified, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Help won't arrive in time. She'd be better off if she's put down here." His eyes looked sad, but the rest of his face was emotionless.

With those words, bright green lines scored across the back of his arms and legs, appearing like they were along major veins. His eyes, which had been a light blue, were flushed with the same green shade. Osamu stared in awe as blades that were at least twelve inches long shot out of his sleeve, looking like they came from the top side of his upper arm.

"H-How did you-" Osamu stopped speaking almost immediately, frozen in disbelief at what he saw before him.

The man took one of his blades, and stabbed it straight through the girl's head. Every muscle in her body tensed for a mere moment before her eyes glazed, and she went limp. He pulled the blood-stained dagger out, and it disappeared up his sleeve again. The bright markings faded, and his eyes reverted back to their original color.

Osamu wanted to hit the seemingly cruel person, as well as interrogate him, but was aware that he had struggled when he tried to stand, and swinging a punch would be less than possible. Even if he did try, it would probably be dodged or blocked, based on what he had seen before. "You heartless bastard!" He snapped, feeling anger welling up inside of him. "You could've saved her!"

He looked over at the other people in the room, who were all either dead, unconscious, or crushed by rubble. "Maybe I could have. Maybe I can save them, too." He narrowed his eyes. "But I won't."

Osamu hated this person's statements with a burning rage. "Why did you come here, then? To watch us all die?"

The man's eyes widened for a split second, and a thousand emotions shimmered in their depths. He pushed them away stubbornly, clenching his fists. "I want to save as many people as I can. That isn't going to be possible if I end up hauling injured people. I want to save you too, kid, but if you can't walk on your own, I can't." He stared down at the floor. "I live to protect everyone, not just a few." He looked at Osamu, while placing his sunglasses around his neck and clearing his throat. "So, can you walk or not?"

Osamu blinked, surprised at the sincerity of the man's words. "Y-Yeah, I think so." He restrained himself from looking down at the female corpse, as well as the many others that hadn't reacted in time to the explosion. He didn't think he could bear it.

The man extended his hand, forcing a broken smile. "The name's Jin. Yuuichi Jin."

Osamu, his arms still unsteady, shook hands with him, somewhat reluctantly. "Osamu Mikumo," he answered with his own name, remaining confused and in a state of shock.

Jin looked out of the shattered window. "If you want to survive, don't fall behind me. But if you actually keep up, you're in for one hell of a ride, four-eyes." He turned back to Osamu, and then started to walk out of the door, it's frame in pieces, and the actual door blown off. "By the way, I'm not here alone, if that's what you were thinking. You might end up meeting some interesting people."

Although his legs were still throbbing, Osamu made quite the effort to more, and was able to limp without wincing. He wasn't exactly sure if this person was a hero or a villain, but his instinct told him that Jin was, indeed, a key to his survival. Still, how much he didn't know about the young man disturbed him, especially how he managed to walk out of a bombing perfectly fine, and was able to shoot blades from his arms.

Osamu limped after his new-found "ally", not certain on what he had just gotten himself into. Although, whatever it was, just as Jin had said, he was in for one hell of a ride.


	3. The Family we Never Had

Jin pushed the door on the room across the hall open, and, in turn, it came loose from its hinges and fell to the floor. Obviously, no one had ducked down in time, due to the fact that dead and unconscious bodies were thrown over the many desks and chairs. Even if a person _had_ been prepared for it, there was a good chance that something could have crushed them. Osamu had gotten quite lucky, and the image of the dead girl next to him haunted his mind.

Jin took a few seconds to look around, although he never stopped to check the peoples' pulses, in order to see who who was still alive. Although, Osamu wasn't particularly surprised by this action, based on what he had observed in the few minutes prior.

"Follow me," Jin ordered, walking out of the classroom as quickly as be had come in. Osamu winced as the effort that it took to move, especially in his current state, was beginning to take a toll on him. However, he refused to fall behind, needing the jacket-wearing man to help him rescue Chika, who was on the level below.

Osamu had decided not to ask him about it directly, and wait until they moved to investigate the lower floor. She would be safer down there, unless you thought about the possibility of something falling on her, since the attack had seemed to have been focused on the third story of the building. He clung desperately to the hopeful thought, not knowing how he would be able to live with himself if she had been killed.

"There should a person on both the first and third floors by now." Jin looked over his shoulder at a panting Osamu, who was barely managing to keep pace. "They'll be fine, as long as they weren't inside the building when the attack hit."

"C-Can I go down to the first floor?" Osamu asked boldly, not wanting to waste any time searching for random people he didn't hold close. At least, not until he had secured Chika's life. He felt responsible to learn her fate, and waiting was not an option.

Jin raised an eyebrow. "You know someone there?"

Osamu nodded. "My cousin. A-And, by the way, Neighbors won't come directly to the school, will they?"

"No," Jin replied, stopping near a stairway. "If anywhere, they're probably headed towards the military base. You'd be fine on your own here. If you want to go and find your cousin, look for a black-haired girl with red glasses She's on my side, so feel free to tell her your situation."

Jin started to walk upstairs, waving his hand. "Don't hurt yourself. Don't leave the building. Look for people who can walk. Go outside once you find who you're looking for, and I'll meet you there."

Somewhere deep down, Osamu wanted to reply with something like, ' _Yes, dad_ ,' but ultimately decided against it. "Right," he responded, watching Jin go upstairs, while he limped in the other direction.

Even though he had been told to look for people who were able to walk, Osamu went as fast as his weakened legs would allow him, and made his way down to Chika's room. It was at ground level, and on the opposite side of where the explosion had been, so it wasn't as bad, but still a sight that could make anyone cringe.

Osamu came around a corner, somewhat relieved that the door to her classroom was still in tact. After pausing for a few seconds, his entire body feeling like it would give out, he reached for the door handle, terrified of what may be laying in wait on the other side.

He turned the handle, but as he took a step inside, he was met with a rude fist-to-face greeting.

Someone had punched him straight across the left side of his face, and although it wasn't exactly powerful, the shock of it made it seem far worse than it actually was.

Osamu immediately put his hand over where he was hit, not having expected it in the slightest. He looked over at the person standing on his left, who was a girl that wore an expression looking like she had just realized she left the oven on.

"I-I'm sorry!" She stammered, waving her hands around. "I t-thought you could have been a Neighbor, a-and-" The girl cut herself off with a laugh. "S-Sorry," she apologized again.

"No, you're fine," Osamu reassured her, extremely confused. While doing so, he noticed that she possessed black hair that was tied into a low ponytail, and wore red-rimmed glasses. "Sorry if I'm wrong, but do you know a guy named Yuuichi Jin?"

She looked a bit surprised at the mention of Jin's name. "We're both here in a group, actually. Do you know him?"

Osamu nodded, but then had second thoughts. "Well, sort of. He saved my life when the school was attacked, so I guess I owe him."

The girl smiled slightly. "Did he scare you?"

"W-What?"

"He can seem pretty cruel the first time you meet him, especially in a situation like this, but he's actually a good person." She glanced over her shoulder. "Apart from that, if you're helping him, there were a few people who survived with minor injuries, but they're all unconscious right now. I was planning to move to the next room, but-"

"Can I get someone?" Osamu interrupted her, this being the second time he had prevented someone from finishing a sentence. He felt like his heart had skipped a beat when he noticed a limp Chika in the corner of the room, and struggled to make his way over there.

"A friend?"

Osamu turned his head, pausing for a few seconds. "I suppose so. She's one of my cousins, and lives with my family."

"Obviously, you'll have to carry her, if you want to take her with you," the girl cautioned, although she seemed to admire Osamu's determination. "And even if she _was_ conscious, I doubt that she took cover before the explosion. It's not like she's going to wake up and be perfectly fine, you know."

Osamu turned back to Chika's body, still unsure if it was actually alive or not. "I know," he answered quietly. "But I'm not going to leave someone I care about here to die. That's not how I would want to do things."

She lifted an eyebrow. "You sound a lot like Jin," she laughed.

Before responding, Osamu placed two fingers along the bottom of Chika's jawbone, checking for a pulse. He was utterly terrified for half a second, but felt a huge weight being lifted off of his shoulders at the faint beating of her heart.

"Would Jin actually say something like that?" Osamu was surprised, although he didn't exactly know the man, and only had a small idea of what his character was like.

The girl nodded. "He would. Jin is a scary person, and even scarier when he's fighting to protect someone. Although..." She narrowed her eyes. "He can't save everyone, and one of the things that make him so threatening is he's aware of that. I can't blame him, though. To say the least, he's been through a lot."

He wanted to ask the girl what she meant, but stopped himself. If Jin had 'been through a lot', Osamu would ask him directly. (Of course, he would be polite about it, and wait for an appropriate timing.) Osamu didn't think that he would be able to carry Chika on his back in his sorry state , so he decided to go about it bridal-style.

"Cute!" The girl smiled at him, and Osamu could feel his face turn fifty shades of red and pink. "By the way, my name's Shiori Usami. You are?"

"Osamu Mikumo," he told her, guessing that this wasn't the last time he'd be introducing himself today. After all, Jin had told him that he would meet some 'interesting people'.

However, when Osamu attempted to walk, or rather, limp, with the unconscious Chika in his arms, the extra weight proved to be far too much for his weakened body to support. In turn, the younger girl fell over the same chair that Osamu used to steady himself.

"Do you need help with that?" Shiori offered, extending her hand. "You should focus on trying to walk."

Osamu looked at her, a confused expression on his face. "B-But Jin said-"

"Jin's different than us," Shiori answered him before his statement had been finished. "Jin doesn't feel emotions like we do. For one thing, he's not even human anymore. And even if he was, pain changes people." She paused, making eye contact with Osamu. "Even I don't know exactly what happened, but if you're really curious, I can tell you what I know about it later."

Osamu's head was swarming with questions, but he refused to distract himself. If Jin had some kind of dark past, he would find out for himself, eventually. "If you're sure it's okay, t-then I'd appreciate it."

Shiori smiled at him. "Good choice! By the looks of her, she can't be that heavy, so I should be able to take her."

Osamu was wondering how she was able to act 'happy' in a situation like theirs. He was worried about Chika, as well as his mother, and terrified that the Neighbors would take the district. The black-haired girl, on the other hand, looked like what she would probably be looking like on a normal basis.

"I wanted to move the next room before you came, so I'll be doing that now," Shiori informed him. "You can tag along, or just wait here."

"Just tell me what to do, and I can help!" Osamu insisted, not wanting to be a dead weight.

Shiori had put Chika on her back. "If I need your help, I'll tell you," Shiori replied. "For now, you're injured, so it's perfectly fine if you can't do much. Don't worry about it!"

Osamu felt very uncomfortable being almost completely useless, as well as simply following someone that he had just met, but he didn't argue. "By the way, Miss Usami, how did you not get hurt when the school was attacked? Even if the damage wasn't as bad on the first floor, you're not even scratched..."

Shiori, who had walked out into the hallway with Osamu behind her, scratched her head nervously. "Actually, I wasn't inside the building yet. When we arrived in this district after getting word of the Neighbors' location, Jin had scouted ahead, so he got here first. He's fine, though. I saw the explosion, and came as fast as I could."

"Is Jin, like, the leader, then?"

Shiori, halting yet again, shrugged. "Not officially, but everyone follows his orders. He just took charge on his own, really. Nobody objects, though. He's the strongest, and a genius when it comes to tactical stuff."

"He seems strong," Osamu thought out loud, his gaze focused on Chika. "And like he's good at making hard decisions," he added, remembering Jin killing the injured girl in his classroom without a second thought.

Shiori turned her head, facing forward. "He thinks differently than everyone else, but sometimes, that can be a good thing. Although he would probably leave someone behind for sake of the team, that guy has walked through hell and back, and everything he does is to protect the people he cares about." She glanced over her shoulder. "He may be harsh sometimes, but Jin is a natural leader, and sometimes it's terrifying when you see how far he's prepared to go in order to protect his family."

"Family?" Osamu echoed, beginning to wonder just how strong the bonds of Jin and Shiori's 'group' were.

Shiori smiled slightly. "There isn't a person I know who hasn't lost someone important to them. So, we treat each other like the family we never had."

Osamu was taken aback. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

Shiori shook her head, not looking offended or sad. "Nah, it's fine. Everything's alright at this point, so it doesn't bother me to mention things like that."

Osamu couldn't find a reply, so he stayed silent, and followed Shiori out of the once-organized classroom. He was confused, and rather curious, but was determined to survive, and make sure the people close to him did, too. Therefore, he refused to slow Shiori's pace.

 _Whatever I just got roped into_... He thought, narrowing his eyes as he limped behind Shiori. ... _I can't turn back, especially if I want to live_.

This was the turning point in Osamu's life, and little did he know how far off the road he would stray.


	4. Arashiyama Unit

Shiori, with Osamu trailing her, had checked nearly every room on the bottom floor, and not even one person was conscious. She asked Osamu if he knew anyone else personally, and volunteered to carry them along with Chika. However, Osamu didn't want to strain his new friend, and had felt most of his hope fade at the sight of Izuho's limp body, which had been brutally crushed under a large piece of rubble.

"Was that girl your friend, too?" Shiori asked him as they walked out of the door, which wasn't even an actual door anymore, only a mere frame.

Osamu's eyes widened. "H-How did you know that?"

"The look in your eyes," Shiori answered, her gaze drifting to the floor. "Your expression changed when you saw her. You were shocked, but also scared. Wondering how many other people close to you had passed on like that."

Osamu flinched, not expecting that the black-haired girl would be able decode people's faces in the way that she had. "I didn't know her that well, but she was Chika's best friend."

Shiori glanced at the small girl on her back, still unconscious. "It'll be hard on her, then. What about your friends, Osamu?"

Osamu didn't have any 'good' friends at his school, but he was worried anyway. "There's a few," he told her, feeling guilty about the fact that he hadn't been compelled to check on them. "They're all on the second floor, so if they're still alive and able to move, Jin might get them."

Shiori walked out of the demolished room, not stopping to check anyone's pulse. Osamu wanted to ask her why she was so determined to save Chika, since she didn't even know the girl, and had just met Osamu. Obviously, it wasn't because she was selfless, since Shiori hadn't even tried to rescue anyone else.

For the first time, Osamu noticed the small communicator that was placed in her ear. She pinched a tiny button on it's side, and waited a few seconds before speaking.

"Have you finished?" She asked whoever was on the other end, and waited for a reply before she talked again.

"Go outside. I'll see you there." After lowering her hand from the device, she turned to Osamu. "Do you want to go and see if your friends are alive?"

Osamu shook his head somewhat reluctantly. "No. I want to get Chika taken care of first. If we could actually bring any of the others with us, Jin would've dealt with it."

Shiori looked like she wanted to protest, but probably decided against it. Instead, she told Osamu to follow her closely, and made for the main entrance.

As one of the doors fell off it's hinges due to a slight push, Osamu found it hard to believe that less than an hour ago, he had walked through those same doors with Chika, in the same way he had done every other day. Now, the school was falling apart, and limp bodies, alive or not, were scattered everywhere. Not to mention that Neighbors were in the city, and Osamu could only imagine what was happening in the area where the wall had been broken.

Bright sunlight greeted Osamu as he struggled to limp down the stairs, using the rail for support. It was a beautiful day, and yet people were dying, as if the heavens themselves had no reason to mourn those who had already been lost.

Apart from Chika's well-being, the only other thing on Osamu's mind was his mother, who worked near the wall itself. He hadn't heard another explosion since the one at school, which was reassuring, telling him that they hadn't damaged the great stone structure any further. Even so, he had no idea where the actual Neighbors were located, and they could've easily spread through the small district. In addition, of you listened for it, you could hear people's desperate screams as they either lost their lives, or would do anything to save them.

Osamu saw Jin coming from the left side of the building, with his sunglasses back around his neck, and felt his spirits fall when he noticed that the young man didn't have anyone with him.

Shiori placed Chika's body on the ground, most likely grateful for the short rest. However, Osamu felt even more discouraged when he saw Jin's gaze darken as he saw the violet-eyed girl.

"Who's she?" He asked when he was within earshot of the two other people.

Osamu opened his mouth to reply, but Shiori spoke first. "Osamu's cousin," she explained. "She was conscious when we found her, but fell asleep a few minutes ago. I figured that she'd been with us for at least twenty minutes at that point, and I didn't mind a little extra weight, so I decided to carry her."

Osamu was shocked. Although he didn't know much about her, he would never expect a person like Shiori to lie like that. She was surprisingly good at it, too, and if Osamu hadn't been with her when she found Chika, he would have never guessed that what she told Jin wasn't the truth.

"Four-eyes didn't want her to die, and you volunteered to carry her body, which was unconscious when you found her. Right?"

Osamu's mouth gaped slightly open, and his eyes were wide. Jin not only saw through the false story, but his sudden guess was shockingly close to what had actually happened.

Shiori sighed loudly, her expression defeated, but also amused. "I knew that it was no use lying, but it was worth a shot. Sorry about that," she laughed.

Jin looked down at Chika, and looked like he was about to say something, but didn't. Instead, he went to Osamu. "Glad to see you're still here, Four-eyes. But why, exactly, is Shiori dragging your cousin around?"

Osamu adjusted his glasses nervously. "Well, I-I..." He took a deep breath. "I'm not like you, Jin. I just wouldn't be able to leave her to die like that."

Jin blinked. "If you've gotten this far, I'm not going to tell you to put her on a bench and walk away. If she becomes a burden, though, don't expect top-of-the-line treatment."

"Y-Yes, sir!" Osamu stammered, feeling incredibly relieved.

" _Sir_?" Jin echoed, raising his eyebrows. "No need to be so polite."

"Um, r-right..." Osamu responded shakily. He was about to say something else, but another voice cut him off.

"Who are you?" It said, ringing above the faint chaotic noises.

There heads turned rapidly to face the speaker. It was dark-haired man who was decently tall, who was clad in something that slightly resembled the typical Mikado District military uniform, despite the fact that it's base color was red. Behind him stood two other males and one female, all wearing similar clothing.

"Arashiyama Unit!" Osamu exclaimed, recognizing their faces from what he had seen on multiple types of media.

Jin narrowed his eyes. "Are they some military big-shots or something?"

"They're Mikado District's most elite squad," Osamu replied, not taking his eyes off of them. "Some people even see them as celebrities."

The leader of the group, Jun Arashiyama, came closer to Osamu and the others, his squad following. In a crisis like this one, he seemed far different from the extravagant person that Osamu had seen on television. "Are you authorized to be here?"

Jin faced the soldier, a rather unwelcoming look on his face. "We're rescuing the students here. Is there a problem?"

Arashiyama was clearly not pleased with Jin's display of disrespect. "Actually, it _is_ a problem. All citizens are being evacuated into the military base."

"Who are you 'evacuating', anyway?" The girl spoke up. "There's only two students here."

"Taking unconscious people with us would only make things more difficult, and I only found two people who could walk on their own. One of them died, and Four-eyes was the other. This girl was taken without my permission, which is the only reason why she's here." Jin was able to look Arashiyama in the eye, without flinching once. "Protecting the city is my priority right now, and I won't let knocked-out school kids get in the way."

"You're under arrest for preforming military duties without permission." Arashiyama didn't even bother to think of a clever response. "As well as for abandoning citizens."

"Right, because you'll take the time to arrest someone in the middle of a Neighbor invasion," Jin challenged the squad captain's statement. "And by the way, aren't you some elite squad? Why aren't you on the front lines?"

Arashiyama narrowed his eyes. "We've got the advantage in the main battle, and my squad isn't needed yet. Instead, we were ordered to protect the citizens."

Jin looked intrigued, in a way that was mocking the captain. "In my eyes, that's a job that's given to the weakest."

Arashiyama ignored him, and turned to the girl. "Kitora, take them to the base. Meet up with us when you're done. It should be safe there, for now. The only breach in the wall is on the opposite side, and-"

Jin cut him off, laughing randomly. "It's 'safe'? Do you still think that? The first attack on the wall was a diversion. The Neighbors fighting over there? A simple way to distract the human soldiers."

" _You_ would have no idea," Arashiyama retorted. "The military has been researching Neighbor activities for years, and tell me, what have you been doing?"

"The same thing." Jin grinned, although he looked extremely threatening. "And I know that they've got a new pawn to send into the game. How else would be able to damage the wall like that? And the shelters? They were attacked from below, which is pretty strange, if you ask me."

Arashiyama was obviously concerned at this point, but tried desperately to hide it. "Your talking nonsense. If you want to make a war hero speech, do it in prison when this fight is over."

Jin raised his eyebrows. "Over? It hasn't even started yet, _sir_."

Arashiyama opened his mouth, but was unable to speak as another explosion went off in the distance.

Osamu whipped around. "W-What the heck was that?"

Jin appeared to be satisfied, which, because of what was happening, wasn't exactly a good thing. "Told you. They've got a walking tank, and there he goes again." He acquired a pained, somewhat regretful look in his eyes as he mentioned the ' _walking tank_ ', which only made Osamu's mind become even more of a mess.

"That's near the base..." Arashiyama muttered under his breath, although it was just loud enough for Jin to hear. "Kitora, we're going in that direction. Instead, you take them to one of the branch offices and have one of the operators keep them there."

Kitora, her bright violet eyes narrowed, looked like she wanted to protest, and didn't hesitate to. "Sir, what if I'm needed over there?" She glared at Jin, who met her firey gaze calmly. "I don't think we should waste any of our previous time on lowly trash."

Jin pretended to be offended, acting ridiculously overly dramatic. If under different circumstances, it would probably be funny to watch. Osamu noticed Shiori struggling not to laugh. Dropping the childish act, Jin resumed talking. "If you really want to, you can lock me up after all this is over, which might be awhile. After all," he continued, flicking his glasses back down on his face in a swift movement. "The future has infinite possibilities, doesn't it?"

Something about that sentence, whatever it may have been, sent shudders through the people surrounding him. Even Osamu felt the dark vibes coming from those words, and was led to wonder what could be hidden behind Jin's cheerful smiles.

Arashiyama was taken aback, and he appeared like he wanted to say something, but his mouth remained slightly open for the next few seconds before the ominous silence was broken.

"Shiori, Osamu, come on. Take the girl if you want to, but I won't be responsible for her." He turned around, his open jacket flapping in the slight wind. "We'll be going now, if you don't mind. There's things to do, people to see."

Arashiyama had one hand on the gun strapped to his belt. "W-Wait! You're not allowed to-"

Jin looked over his shoulder. "In second future, I _am_ allowed to. And in another one, I might be dead. You might be dead. There are many different ways a book can end, and we are the authors our own life story. If I want it to be written in a way where I save your sorry asses, then that's how this story will go."

Arashiyama gripped his gun tighter, eyes wide, and his squad had a similar reaction. Even Osamu and Shiori, who hadn't been involved in the argument whatsoever, didn't know how to respond to such a statement. Another male soldier, with dark blonde hair styled in a bowlcut and tired eyes, stepped forward to speak.

"Leave them, for now." His voice was calm, at least compared to Arashiyama's, and his expression was very relaxed. "We can depart now, and track them down later. I suggest that we focus on the task at hand." He looked over at Jin. "Also, I have reason to assume that these people are not opposing the government. I don't see them as a current threat, so leaving to attend to the most recent attack on the wall shouldn't cause us any harm."

Arashiyama narrowed his eyes. "What you say is true, but I can't imagine just walking away."

"Hey, you two." Jin looked back at Shiori, then at Osamu. "Hurry up. We'll miss the others."

 _Others_...? Osamu thought, his eyes going back and forth between Jin, Chika, and Arashiyama. _How many people did Jin come here with_?

Shiori had seemed to be spacing out, but Jin's command snapped her back into reality. "R-Right! Osamu, I'll grab your cousin." She turned to Arashiyama, who was looking pretty confused. "We're on your side, trust me!" She left him with only those words, put an unconscious Chika on her back, and began to follow Jin.

"You're a student, aren't you?" Arashiyama spoke directly to Osamu, for the first time. "If that guy roped you into whatever this is, you'll be offered military protection, and we can take you to safety."

"Osamu!" Shiori called his name, waiting for him to follow. Jin had stopped as well, smiling as if nothing had happened.

Osamu looked at the two calm, yet strangely cheerful faces, both of them expecting him to come along, and then at Chika's limp figure. There wasn't much of a question about where he would go, despite how little he knew. However, it wasn't what he _didn't_ know that was occupying his thoughts, but what he longed to find out. Chika's fate, each and every mystery that surrounded Jin, and, most importantly, just how extraordinary these people would turn out to be.

"Sir, they really are something special," he replied, a faint smile lighting up his expression. "I can tell."

Arashiyama was clearly disapproving, but didn't say so. "Is that right?"

Osamu nodded quickly, and, at the sound of his name being said a second time, turned to face Shiori and Jin. With one final glance behind him, at the future he could have chosen, he left to join the people he would soon be able to call comrades.

"Don't worry," Jin reassured him, noticing the uncertainty clouding the boy's eyes. "We'll probably see them again."

Osamu stared up at him. "S-Seriously? How would you know that?"

Jin started walking again. "I don't. But, like I said, we write our own life story, to an extent. And besides, they're _the strongest team_ , aren't they? With a group like that, I can see them making it out of here."

"... _Out of here_?" Osamu repeated, not sure about what he meant by that.

Now out of Arashiyama Unit's eyesight, Jin stopped once again. He faced Osamu, sunlight dancing on the glassy surface of his turquoise-tinted sunglasses. "I probably should of mentioned this earlier, but..." He narrowed his eyes, a smirk on his face.

"We're going outside the wall."


	5. Can't Call Myself Human Anymore

Now out of Arashiyama Unit's eyesight, Jin stopped once again. He faced Osamu, sunlight dancing on the glassy surface of his turquoise-tinted sunglasses. "I probably should of mentioned this earlier, but..." He narrowed his eyes, a smirk on his face. "We're going outside the wall."

Osamu stopped dead in his tracks. Shiori did as well, although she was probably more surprised about the fact that Jin had obviously just disclosed some form of valuable information, rather that the statement itself.

"W-What?" Osamu stammered, realizing that Jin had just taken his situation to an entirely different level. "Did you say-"

"We're going outside the wall," Jin repeated himself, turning around to face Osamu. "Don't worry, I'll explain why later. But right now, _anywhere_ would be better than here."

"No way in hell am I going out there!" Osamu had raised his voice slightly, careful not to draw Arashiyama Unit's attention, who may still be remaining near. "Anyone who goes outside the walls dies! Everybody knows that!"

Jin looked towards the heavily damaged barrier. "Is that so? In that case, where do you think Shiori and I came here from, Four-Eyes?"

Osamu felt his heartbeat accelerate. "What are you saying?"

Before Jin had the chance to reply, if he was even going to, a semi-familiar voice filled the moment of silence.

"Move an inch, and I shoot."

Jin sighed loudly, and turned around slowly, obviously annoyed rather than scared. Although, it was pretty hard to imagine him being 'scared' of anything. "Damm, I thought we would get a little more time before you showed up. My calculations were off."

Osamu turned in order to see who had threatened them, doing so far more cautiously than Jin had, terrified that the person wouldn't hesitate to fire. Holding a loaded gun in his hand, bright red uniform standing out against the damaged cityscape, stood none other than the tired-eyed soldier who was the reason that Jin had gotten away from Arashiyama Unit without a fight.

The soldier made use of the communicator that was placed in his left ear. "Neighbor identity suspected. High Trion levels are appearing on radar." He waited a few moments, and Jin, surprisingly, waited politely until he finished speaking. "I'll proceed to eliminate the threat."

"Yo, mushroom head!" Jin greeted him with a smile on his face, which made the soldier narrow his eyes slightly.

"J-Jin!" Osamu snapped, keeping his voice low. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

The soldier raised his gun, making it level with Jin's head. His finger was set on the trigger, and, for some reason, he looked like he would shoot all three of them without question. "Answer me truthfully," he demanded, making eye contact with the spiky-haired young man. "Are you human?"

Shiori tensed, looking over at Jin. He had broken out in random laughter, and Osamu's hands were shaking. What kind of question was that, and why was Jin's first response so childish?

Jin looked up at the soldier, who looked just as confused as Osamu was. "Truthfully, huh?" He flashed a vibrant grin. "In that case, I'll say no. There's no use lying to a _soldier_ , is th-"

He never finished the sentence. A gunshot pierced the air, and Osamu felt like his blood had run cold. Shiori, however, seemed strangely calm.

" _Jin!"_ Osamu screamed, not knowing what he would do if Jin would die now. His eyes were like twin moons, and yet, still, Shiori remained unfazed.

Osamu then realized why.

Jin's hand, clenched into a fist, was held in front of his face. He opened it, and a bullet fell to the ground in front of his feet. There wasn't even the littlest drop of blood, but instead, flying from the hand he had somehow used to stop the shot was a luminous, pale green substance that somewhat resembled glitter.

It was beautiful.

Osamu's heart was like a drum. "W-What's going on?"

Jin didn't pay any attention to the baffled student. He made eye contact with the soldier who had shot him, the typically dull eyes wide, and the gun trembling along with his hand. "Slow down," Jin sighed. "You almost got me there."

The soldier stared at him, mouth gaped slightly open. "Y-You're no ordinary N-Neighbor. What... _are_ you?

Jin looked confused. "Neighbor? I never said I was a Neighbor. Just inhuman."

Osamu stepped forward, the infinite questions in his head only increasing by the second. "You're Mr. Tokieda, r-right? P-Please trust me, he's not a threat!"

Mitsuru Tokieda, his hands down by his sides, narrowed his eyes. Jin looked fairly interested about the fact that Osamu would risk his safety to assist him, and didn't say anything.

"You don't know what he is, and neither do I, so you're scared of him!" Osamu continued, trying to hide his nervousness. "I'm afraid too! But he's a good person, I think, and there's no reason apart from your own fears to kill him!"

Tokieda hadn't expected the bewildered teen to counter his actions, but luckily, showed no signs of shooting for a second time. He came closer, face-to-face with Jin. "If you can't consider yourself to be human or Neighbor, what are you, then?" He glanced at the young man's hand, which still had the glitter-like material flowing from it. "And explain _that_. It's Trion, isn't it?"

 _What's Trion_...? Osamu wondered, adding another question to the infinitely expanding list in his head.

Jin smiled, and waved at Osamu and Shiori. "Shiori, take Four-Eyes and meet up with the others. Tell them we're retreating."

Osamu replied before the dark-haired girl had a chance to. "W-What about you?"

"He'll be fine," Shiori informed him, nodding at Jin. "Besides, I think we're stretching our time out way more than we should be. He'll find the group later."

 _Why does she trust him so much_...? Osamu thought, uncertain about leaving Jin, who was basically a criminal at this point, alone with a soldier. _Or is he just that strong_?

"As for you," Jin's gaze returned to Tokieda. "I'm not a Neighbor, I can assure you, but I can't call myself human anymore. Whatever you want to classify that as is your own decision."

Obviously, that wasn't the response the blonde soldier was looking for. "If you're not going to give me a straight answer for that, fine. Now, _who_ are you, exactly? Who is _she_ ," he beckoned to Shiori, "and how many people are in league with you?"

Shiori, the weight of Chika beginning to strain her, turned to Osamu. "Come on. Don't worry about Jin, he can take care of himself."

"You can't just leave," Tokieda warned them, not expecting such boldness. "And even if you did manage to, where would you go? I don't even know how you got here in the first place, but-"

"I know what I'm doing," Jin laughed, seeming more lighthearted with each friendly statement. "And to answer your questions, I'm Yuuichi Jin, she's Shiori Usami, and I'm not sure how many people are with me in total. If you were referring to how many are in this district right now, I'd probably say around ten, excluding Shiori and myself."

"What are you planning to do here?"

"Like I said before. Our original goal was to evacuate people that were capable of moving, but I've deemed that as a lost cause. The Neighbors are more in numbers than I had first anticipated, and I want to secure my friends' safety."

"So you abandoned your mission, as well as the citizens' lives?"

Jin looked offended, and angry, at Tokieda's accusation, but didn't put the negative emotions into words. "Even if we decide to fight back, the district will be overrun. It would be a wasted effort."

Tokieda didn't try and argue any further. Instead, he brought up the one question that Jin hadn't provided an answer for: the one about what was coming out of his hand. "You never answered to whether you have Trion in your hand. Or, perhaps, in your entire body."

"I didn't?" Jin tipped his head. "Then, yeah. I'm full of that sparkly green shit."

" _Jin_ ," Shiori sighed, dragging the single syllable of his name out. "You're not taking things seriously enough."

Tokieda continued to question Jin further. "And yet, you claim you're not a Neighbor? Give me a reason why I should keep you alive."

Jin smiled at him. "Off the top of my head, I probably couldn't tell you something believable. And, anyways, you couldn't take me down me right here, especially if I know your motives."'

Surprisingly, Tokieda had kept the same, calm expression through most of this, despite his slanted eyes. In fact, even from seeing him on the media, Osamu had come to the conclusion that the red-clad soldier had gotten fairly good at masking his emotions. In that way, he was like Jin.

Jin continued. "Long story short, I'm a stupid bastard that's hard to kill. But I'm a friend." He grinned at the boy standing behind him. "Right, _Osamu?"_

Osamu blinked, not expecting Jin to mention him whatsoever. However, instead of providing a reply, he turned to Tokieda. "S-Sir, I don't think there's a reason to fight him. He's just someone who wants to help people."

Jin nodded. "Shiori, take him and find the others. I'll meet up with you."

Tokieda held his gun up once again. "H-Hey, wait-!"

Jin turned to him. "Where's the rest of your squad?" He asked coolly, waving Shiori and Osamu off.

Shiori grabbed Osamu's wrist, which led him to take his eyes off Jin and Tokieda. "It's alright," she assured him. "He won't die. And, besides, _she_ needs medical attention," Shiori added, beckoning to Chika.

"R-Right, but..." He glanced at Jin, who was smiling in their direction, and a baffled Tokieda.

"You're wasting time," Jin added his own comment, adjusting his sunglasses. He spoke to Tokieda again. "And, you never answered me. Let's go find the rest of your squad. It's important that we do."

Tokieda seemed to be on the borderline of a neutral expression and a scowl. Before he responded, Shiori, her hand still grasping Osamu's wrist, began to depart in the direction of the damaged wall, at the pace of a fast jog.

"U-Usami!" Osamu resisted, not feeling comfortable with the fact that Jin had told him to simply jog away from an elite soldier, and expect not to be perused.

Shiori let go of him, and looked back. "What's wrong?"

"W-We can't just leave!" He stammered, literally having _no_ idea whatsoever of what was going on. "There's nowhere to go!"

Jin, not focused on Tokieda anymore, walked over to where Osamu was standing, and placed his hand on one of the 'four-eyed' teenager's shoulders. "I told you, we're going outside the wall. It seems like a hellish place - and, well, it is - but as of right now, it's safer than here. Anyways, our base isn't that far from this district. You'll have people to protect you then, but right now, all you're doing is waiting for your own death."

Osamu stared up at him, confused and scared. "I... I don't want to die..." His voice was shaking, and he gritted his teeth.

Jin looked sympathetic for a split second, but brushed it away forcefully. "Shiori, go. And if that girl becomes a burden, get rid of her."

Osamu's eyes widened. Shiori looked a bit surprised as well, but did a fairly decent job of masking it. When Jin's cruel words had reached his ears, he was terrified - as well as infuriated that the young man would say something like that - but in reality, he doubted that _Shiori_ would be able to leave Chika behind, which was a relief.

"Come on, Osamu!" Shiori turned around, and, with about the same speed as before, was headed off. Of course, Osamu was facing the same conflicting emotions he had experienced when Arashiyama Unit had offered him protection, and in the end, he made the same choice as before. Although, he still couldn't fully grasp the fact that he was actually headed out of the 'safety' of the walls.

Everyone could probably agree that they've had a time in their life when they had no idea what they were doing, or why they were doing it, and yet they walked forward, regardless of any negative emotions. To put it simply, Osamu had reached that time. There was a million thoughts racing in his head, ranging from his mother's safety to Jin in general, but it was starting to become clear that Mikado District wasn't safe anymore, and, at least in the near future, wouldn't be if he ever came back.

With his mind remaining a complete mess, he took a deep breath before limping (his injuries were still sore, at this point) after Shiori.

Tokieda raised his gun, and his face displayed the smallest hints of nervousness. As he was moving his finger to the trigger, Jin firmly grasped the soldier's forearm, and surprisingly, the blonde allowed him to lower it, eyes slightly widened.

"Don't,"Jin warned him, eyes looking darker than they had been in the past few minutes. "You'll regret it."

Tokieda dropped the gun, and it fell at Jin's feet. "Who... are you?"

Jin, still grasping Tokieda's arm, smiled in a kindhearted manner, something that was rare for him to do. "You'll know soon enough. Trust me."

The usually expressionless blonde was having a difficult time hiding his fear, as well as bewilderment. "I-I don't... W-Wha-"

"Jeez, I've messed up your 'cool' image, haven't I?" Jin sighed. "Hey, saying this for the third time or whatever, where's the rest of your unit? That is, if you want to get them out of here."

Tokieda just stared at him.

Jin let go of the soldier's arm, and then extended his hand. "Come on, Bowlcut!"


	6. Once-Great Tamakoma

Shiori led Osamu away from the two young men, standing there in silence. Jin was doing a semi-good job of keeping Tokieda in one place, but the soldier hadn't attempted to go after them, which would make that job far easier.

"Usami, w-where are we going?" Osamu stammered, attempting to keep pace. Of course, under normal circumstances, she wasn't going that fast, but Osamu was injured, making it difficult to keep up.

She looked back at him, no longer grasping his wrist, and adjusted her red-rimmed glasses. "To find the others, of course!" She blinked warmly. It was obvious that she had slowed down a considerable amount to make it easier for Osamu, simply out of consideration, and he didn't mention it, out of his own respect.

"W-What about Mr. Tokieda?"

Shiori looked over her shoulder, although still going forward. "Jin will take care of him, and the rest of the unit, too."

"Take care?" Osamu misinterpreted the phrase. "H-He's not going to kill them, is he?"

Shiori shook her head. "No, no!" She paused for a second. "Well, maybe. But I doubt it. As I see it, they're important figures, and Jin is probably thinking the same thing. Hopefully."

"What do you mean, hopefully?"

"You worry too much, Osamu!"

Osamu wanted to tell Shiori that she didn't worry enough, but a part of him agreed with what she had said. People had always told him that he was overly cautious, but he had never seen that as a generally bad thing. In some cases, the trait was even an advantage.

"H-Hey, where are the Neighbors?" Osamu asked, well aware that the two of them wouldn't stand a chance against the humanoids, unless Shiori had some amazing ability she had kept hidden, like Jin. Although, even if that was the case, Osamu doubted that even Jin would be able to fight off a Neighbor invasion single-handedly. Although, you never knew.

Shiori stopped to think, although still continuing to move forward. "...We won't run into any. I think."

"T-That's not an answer!"

Shiori, once again, turned to look at him. "As long as we find the other two groups - or even just one of them, really - we'll be fine. We didn't come to start a battle, and avoiding conflict is a priority right now, especially since you and your cousin are here."

Osamu couldn't think of a clever response. At least, not quick enough to counter Shiori's argument before she turned around and started moving again. Fighting the pain in his limbs, Osamu followed with an uncertain mask shadowing his features.

Now, the ground was no longer what you would call even. Jagged pieces of rubble littered the space, and getting over them with Osamu's injuries and an unconscious Chika was nothing less of a challenge. The fallen buildings continued to interfere with their path, and Osamu was only getting more and more nervous by the second. The Neighbors couldn't be very far away, at this point, and the screams of battle echoed in the distance.

To put it simply, Osamu was terrified.

Osamu wanted to ask Shiori about the Neighbors' location for the second time, although he was never able to. A masculine voice called out to them, and based on her expression, Shiori appeared to recognize the speaker.

"Hey, Shiori!" The person sang out the words, sounding just as cheerful as Jin usually was. (Which was _way_ too happy for the situation.) "What'ya doing? Where's Jin?"

Shiori looked relieved to see the man. He looked like he was around the same age as Jin, and possessed unruly brown hair, as well as a distinct black coat with a popped collar. "Ah, Tachikawa!" As she said what Osamu presumed to be the newcomer's name, two more people came up behind the 'Tachikawa' character, both also male. "And Izumi and Kazama!"

The shortest of the trio, surprisingly, looked the most threatening. In fact, he was the only one of them that didn't look like a trigger-happy idiot. "Where's Jin? And who are those people?" He questioned her, not looking very approving of Osamu's presence, as well as the limp Chika that Shiori was carrying.

Osamu flinched under the man's crimson glare. Shiori, on the other hand, smiled at him like some kind of model you would see in a magazine. "Aww, Kazama, bitter as always!" She teased him, although he didn't appear to be agitated. "This is Osamu!" She responded happily, glancing at the teenager beside her. "And the girl is his cousin! Chika Amatori, I think."

Kazama, his black hair ruffled by the slight breeze, didn't look like that was the answer he wanted to hear. "Jin wouldn't allow two deadweights. How did this get by?"

Osamu, more than anything, couldn't stand being called useless in any way, direct or not. He felt offended at the harsh remark – or, rather, question - and it was a struggle not to fight back against the sharp-eyed man. "J-Jin actually gave me permission to tag along himself, sir. As long as I could walk by myself."

"Your friend there doesn't look like _she_ can walk," Kazama countered, his expression shadowed with disapproval. "So why is Shiori going out of her way to carry someone she just met? If she even spoke to this girl at all, that is."

Before Shiori or Osamu fought back, the other stranger patted Kazama roughly on his back, which surprised the shorter man. "You're too serious!" He mimicked his comrade's 'cool' expression, in an over-dramatic way that made Osamu almost chuckle. "Yes. I am the Kazama. I will destroy you with my creepy demon glare. I am vertically challenged, and-"

"Izumi," Kazuma cut him off, eyes narrowed.

"What?" Izumi laughed. "Too accurate?"

"Seriously, though," Tachikawa turned to Shiori, who was having a grand time watching Izumi make fun of Kazama. "How'd you manage to get that KO-ed pipsqueak past Jin?"

"It took some clever comebacks," Shiori told him lightheartedly, "but he didn't do anything to stop us from taking Chika along."

"That's a shocker!" Tachikawa scratched the back of his head. "Oh, and by the way, Reiji's already taken the others out of here. They'll meet us back at Tamakoma."

"...'Tamakoma'?" Osamu narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar word, looking to Shiori for an explanation.

"It's where we hang around when Jin's not out stabbing things," she replied, laughing at her own joke. (Although it wasn't so much of a joke, but rather factual.) "The abandoned Tamakoma District. It works as a base."

"Why are you disclosing our return point?" Kazama still looked, well, angry. "You don't even know who this kid is."

"Loosen up a bit!" Shiori smiled at him. "It's perfectly fine. He'll see it for himself, soon enough."

Kazama didn't expect the reply he had gotten whatsoever. "Do you mean he's actually coming with us?"

"If we have to retreat as it is, we've already picked Osamu and Chika up from the school, so there's no harm in letting them join us." Shiori looked at Chika, unconscious on her back, and then Osamu, who was looking quite nervous again.

"J-Join you?" Osamu stammered, still not understanding exactly what was going on. "Wait, are you guys really some kind of actual organization?"

Tachikawa came down from his elevated standing point, and set his gaze on Osamu. "Criminal organization, that is. There are districts have been on our tails for years. ! bet it's mostly because of Jin's weird-ass dagger things. Mikado's not one of them, luckily." He laughed. "Governments everywhere think we're some kind of Neighbor mafia because of him. It's pretty funny, actually."

Osamu had no idea how to reply to that.

"Are we getting out of here, or what?" Izumi sighed, walking towards Tachikawa with his hands resting behind his head. "The Neighbors will give us our heads on a silver platter if we don't escape soon."

Tachikawa extended his had to Shiori. "I'll carry Amatori. You're gonna have to run." He looked at Osamu. "Can you move fast?"

"I-I..." He was at a loss for words. "I-I can try!" He felt sweat on his face. "But, sir, where are we going? There's no way out! T-The underground passages were probably destroyed along with the shelter, and there are Neighbors near the hole in the wall..."

"We'll just blow our own hole out." Tachikawa said it as it if were the simplest thing in the world.

"W-What?"

"If you don't want to die, follow us and don't get left behind." Kazama looked up at Osamu, probably more than annoyed at the height difference.

Izumi grinned at him. "For your own sake, you'd better fight like some kind of over-powered manga protagonist!"

Tachikawa now was carrying Chika on his back. "I'm assuming Jin will catch up, right?"

Shiori nodded.

He looked towards wall, on the opposite side of where the original breach was. "Well, what's keeping us?" He smiled back at the others. Don't fall behind, Osamu!"

"U-Usami, what's going on?" Osamu looked at the dark-haired girl in panic, his vibrant eyes stretched wide. "And what about the people in the city? My mother's still there, and-"

"Jin already told you earlier!" She exclaimed. "We're going outside!" She didn't bother to answer his second question, although that told Osamu enough.

"We're going to die!"

"Calm down, Mikumo." Kazama didn't look as coldhearted as before, but he still held on to the serious aura. "We all came from out there, and those three," he glanced at Tachikawa, Izumi, and Shiori, "wouldn't leave a kid to die."

Osamu was taken by surprise as Izumi grabbed his wrist. "What were you just told?" He grinned. "Don't get left behind!"

Tachikawa had taken off running, carrying Chika, with Shiori and Kazama following. Izumi did the same, with a firm grip on Osamu as he took the younger teen along with him.

"H-Hey! I don't understand!"

Izumi didn't slow down, and Osamu looked less than graceful while attempting to keep up. "I never understand this shit, and I'm still alive! And these days, not being dead means you're pretty good!"

An explosion rang out somewhere near, and for a split second of pure horror, Osamu thought the Neighbors were sending reinforcements. Luckily, it was almost the exact opposite.

"Ah, that must be Jin," Izumi shouted to Tachikawa, who looked over his shoulder. "He probably got to the wall first, the sneaky bastard."

"W-Wait, did you bring explosives?" Osamu sputtered; he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"We did!" Izumi sounded far more excited than he should have. "Jin set them up before we came in here!"

"You rigged the wall to explode? Are you insane?" Osamu screeched. He was typically a polite and calm person, but his confusion was pushing him over the edge.

"Well, Jin predicted the attack on the underground tunnels that are connected to the shelter, so he put explosives on this side of the wall before we were inside." Izumi was calm about the entire situation, and Osamu envied that. "Lucky he did, or else we'd all be dead."

"W-What do you mean, he predicted it?"

"I'll explain later, but it's nothing extraordinary," Izumi told him, starting to run again, and dragging Osamu with him. "We're taking too long."

"Can someone tell me what the heck is going on?!"

Before he knew what was upon him, a massive hole in the once-great wall loomed before him. Due to the explosion, fires were on all sides, trapping the surrounding buildings with their scorching charm. Not to mention that they weren't even at the actual wall yet, and the damage from Jin's explosives had managed to reach all the way out to where the others remained. Obviously, he had decided to go way overboard with their escape method. Osamu's legs were trembling, due to a combination of the pain from his injuries and the shock of the reality he was living.

It was hard for a person who had spent their entire life enclosed in stone walls to wrap their head around the fact that the real world was right in front of them.

"Oh, Jin!" Izumi slowed down, and Osamu's throbbing legs could have cried out in relief. He couldn't say that he was happy about Jin still being alive, but the lime-eyed teenager was somewhat glad to see him again. "And... others?"

Osamu looked up to see what Izumi had meant by 'others', and there wasn't much that could have prepared him for what - or rather, who - he would see standing behind Jin.

Their bright red uniforms appearing even more vibrant against the dull, ravaged buildings, Arashiyama Unit stood before them, all four combatants present. Jin, of course, was smiling like an idiot, waving at Tachikawa. It took Osamu a single glance to realize that the entire squad was unsettled, especially Arashiyama. Kitora still looked like she wanted to kill something.

"J-Jin?" Osamu stammered, making vain attempts to avoid eye contact with any of the soldiers, as it seemed like he was their main focus. "Why are they here? _How_ are they here?"

"Haha, so you did make it, after all?" Jin laughed, which seemed to only make Arashiyama Unit tenser. "I've gotta admit, I didn't think I'd see you again, Four-Eyes."

"Why do you have government soldiers with you?" Kazama asked the same question Osamu had, using slightly different wording. "Jin?"

Jin looked at the four people over his shoulder. "These guys? Oh, I thought they'd be a help to us."

Kazama glared at the soldiers. "The districts that are aware of us see us as criminals. It's not safe to have soldiers here, whether they know who we are or not."

Jin continued to maintain his friendly expression. "Nah, it's fine. They understand our motives."

"So you told them secret information?"

"Well, it's not a secret to _them_ anymore."

"We're on your side," Arashiyama cut Kazama off, and his voice sounded bland compared to earlier, as well as being the exact opposite of what Osamu had heard on television.

Tachikawa whistled loudly. "How the hell did you manage to hook District big-shots?"

Jin's smile suddenly became less vibrant. "Long story short, some people died. It didn't take much to convince them." He met Arashiyama's disturbed gaze. "Right?"

Now, the typically confident captain actually looked upset. Osamu was so used to seeing Arashiyama dancing in front of the press like some kind of cheerleader, but what he saw here was the face of a hardened warrior. "These are Tamakoma's people?"

It was clear that something had gone wrong. Even Jin appeared to feel bad about something, and this time, he didn't make an effort to try and hide it. "Some of them." He overlooked the ragtag group, and turned to face the massive cavity he had made in the wall. "On another note, hurry."

He took off at a fast walking pace, expecting everyone else to follow. Arashiyama looked exhausted, although he seemed full of energy when Osamu had last seen him, which wasn't that long ago. Kitora was clearly furious, Tokieda seemed to be lost in his thoughts, and the typically happy-go-lucky sniper, Ken Satori, looked crestfallen.

"I think you made the right choice, going with Jin." Kazama spoke directly to Arashiyama, and his slanted eyes were surprisingly soft.

Arashiyama looked at the shorter male coldly, his eyebrows furrowed in a sudden anger. "There was no _choice_."

Kazama focused his stare ahead, to where Jin, Tachikawa, and Shiori were waiting for them. "There's always a choice. Whether to let yourself die like a soldier, or live like a hero."

He spoke like someone who had decades of experience on the battlefield, and yet he couldn't possibly be older than twenty-five, despite his size. Arashiyama gritted his teeth, not possessing a legitimate response, and his facial expression was similar to the look he had attained when first coming in contact with Jin.

" _Osamu_ , was it?"

Osamu's attention was snatched away from Arashiyama at the sound of Izumi's voice, and the blonde-haired young man led him towards Jin and the others. Arashiyama had looked fairly surprised to see Osamu again, and his evergreen eyes had widened at the sight of the survivor from the junior high.

"They'll come around eventually," Izumi predicted in a low tone, most likely referring to the members of Arashiyama Unit. "Jin's got something about him that brings people together, regardless of where they came from. It's amazing, really."

"Does he?" Arashiyama had overheard, and looked directly at Osamu with a look that was a little bit confused, and a little bit broken. "Speaking based off of what I've been introduced to, he's nothing more than a murderer making vain arguments to justify himself."

Izumi looked apologetic, although he hid it well (for the most part) with a gentle smile that would be able to fool the majority of people. "Well, when you put it like that, he sounds pretty brutal. Which, in reality, I can't exactly disagree with that, but he's a good person."

"There are Neighbors in the city, in case you forgot," Kazama muttered, his features creased in a fiery glare. "If you want to sit on your asses and die, that's your decision. Izumi, _you_ hurry up."

"That's our cue, right?" Izumi looked to Osamu, and then turned his attention back to Jin and the rest of the group. "I'm off, then. Feel free to tag along."

"Arashiyama, are we really leaving? Kitora stated intensely at the ground, and her hands were clenched in tight fists. "I refuse to abandon the city like this! It's-"

"It's a lost cause." The decently tall captain cut his soldier off, his glare focused on Jin, who was grinning back at him. "We haven't got any defense left. There were more of them than of us, and we lost. The only thing we can do now is trust that these people turn out to be who they say they are."

Arashiyama didn't wait for Izumi to reply, and Kazama had already gone to Jin's side. Summoning his squad, the brunette joined the others, and Osamu was still curious as to what exactly had led them to end up joining Jin.

Izumi waltzed off behind him, although the soldiers took no notice of him. Osamu looked at each of the people ahead of him, and Jin was the only one who made eye contact. He gave Osamu a small nod, as if to say, 'it's okay.'

 _That guy can read emotions better than anything I've seen_ , Osamu thought nervously, still not able to trust him. In the past thirty minutes, Jin had ordered Chika to be left for dead if she became a problem, basically called Osamu's classmates' lives worthless, and abandoned the citizens as if they were livestock. He had constantly been wondering why he decided to defend Jin against Tokieda, especially with the conflicting thoughts he was feeling now.

Despite this, almost unconsciously, Osamu trailed Jin and his followers with the added presence of Arashiyama Squad. His mind asked a million questions, but his legs seemed to move on their own.

Of all the scenarios that played themselves through his thoughts, none of them led up to Arashiyama Unit deciding to go with Jin. There were the government soldiers who would die for the citizens of Mikado District in a heartbeat, and then there was the leader of a criminal organization that was wanted by districts all across Japan. By any means, not a good combination. And, even so, they stood before Osamu as allies.

Well, now he had yet another question to face Jin with.

Osamu stated out into the hole, the only things visible at his point being piles of rubble and the remains of buildings. The land outside had been abandoned once the walls were constructed, and it had been mostly demolished by Neighbors in the first large-scale invasion.

Osamu didn't care. He was looking at freedom.

"Like it?" Izumi's cheerful voice shattered Osamu's thoughts. "Most newbies get that same look on their face. I did, too."

Osamu awkwardly adjusted his glasses, not expecting the blonde to speak to him just now. "Y-Yeah, I would think so." He still hadn't completely processed that he was actually leaving the wall, and walking away from the life he had led up until now. He couldn't shake off the fact that his mother was still in the city somewhere, but he was consciously aware that he could either follow Jin or die. However, no matter what he was thinking at the time, his mind always looped back to one phrase, over and over again.

It shouldn't be this simple.

After his dad was killed, Osamu had always lived in an isolated world of false peace. A generally calm, happy life like his had resulted in him being so ignorant of the constant threat that hung over humanity like a cat hunting its prey. Now, he was facing the consequences of this entire situation.

"Don't worry, Osamu." Izumi's face relaxed as he recalled his own entrance into Jin's 'Tamakoma' bunch. "Seriously, it's fine. It may not seem like it, but Jin has a soft spot for new kids. He'll be looking out for you."

Osamu tensed, now limping alongside Izumi, and only a few feet behind Arashiyama Unit. "He certainly hides it well, then. He wished Chika dead."

A scrap of empathy flew through Izumi's unusual golden eyes, but it seemed like he was as good at blocking out feelings as his colleagues were. "Yeah, he'll say stuff like that sometimes. And other times, he'll actually go through with it. But he really does care, trust me. He's seen too much not to."

"Shiori said something similar," Osamu replied quietly. " _That guy has walked through hell and back_ , I think it was. But she told me that she didn't know the exact details of what had happened."

Izumi shook his head. "To be honest, I don't think Jin has completely opened up to anyone. If we're all connected by strings that have been tied together, each hanging from the same ceiling, Jin's string has already fallen to the floor."

Osamu was taken by an abrupt feeling of shock, Izumi's words being the opposite of what he had heard about Jin's connection with his colleagues. "B-But you said that be brought people together-"

"He does," Izumi interrupted, anticipating the rest of Osamu's statement. "But that doesn't mean he's like the rest of us."

He didn't say anything more, but Osamu didn't have the words to respond, anyway.

As if no time had passed at all, the great passageway (well, it wasn't exactly like an actual, constructed passageway) through the wall towered over him. It had to be at least ten meters tall. A marvel, to say the least.

"Stop." Jin suddenly halted, and when Osamu realized the distance between him and the young man, it became clear that he had allowed Osamu to catch up. Jin was staring at something outside of the wall, and after a few seconds, Kazama looked like he had seen it as well.

"A kid?" Kazama's vermilion eyes were narrowed, although his expression also held a sense of awe. "Do you see it, too?"

"S-See what?" Osamu made his way ungracefully towards Jin and Kazama, with Izumi right behind him.

Tachikawa and Shiori seemed like they had noticed something, too. Even Arashiyama Squad was intensely focused on whatever Jin had pointed out, and Arashiyama and Kitora both had one hand on their weapons.

Then, Osamu saw it.

Snowy white hair was ruffled by the breeze, and a pair of eyes like twin rubies stared back at Osamu. The figure was clad in a zipper-less sweatshirt that seemed darker than the night sky, and baggy shorts that went about down to his knees, flooded with the color of sand. It was male, and, despite his apparent age, in his face there were years of pain trapped in the young eyes.

Before the infamous Tamakoma, outside of the wall as if he were waiting for something, there stood a child.


	7. Yuma Kuga

Tachikawa and Shiori seemed like they had noticed something, too. Even Arashiyama Squad was intensely focused on whatever Jin had pointed out, and Arashiyama and Kitora both had one hand on their weapons.

Then, Osamu saw it.

Snowy white hair was ruffled by the breeze, and a pair of eyes like twin rubies stared back at Osamu. The figure was clad in a zipper-less sweatshirt that seemed darker than the night sky, and baggy pants the color of a thick smoke. It was male, and, despite his apparent age, in his face there were years of pain trapped in his young features.

Before the infamous Tamakoma, outside of the wall as if he were waiting for something, there stood a child.

"Hey, Misuru, was it?" Jin slowly turned to the dull-eyed soldier, still having his body facing the white-haired figure in front of him. "You guys can make Trion appear on radar, right? Any in this guy?"

Tokieda, still staring ahead, checked a small device that he had pulled from his pocket. The soldier's face dropped at what he saw, which told Jin what he needed to know. "Yes," he replied quietly, eyes fixed on the small device in his hand.

Jin narrowed his eyes, and his threatening stance sent shivers down Osamu's spine. Arashiyama cautiously pulled out his gun, although he didn't take aim just yet.

Jin was the first to step forward. The child didn't come closer, but you could notice him brace himself for an attack. Naturally, anyone else probably would do the same, if someone who could go from smiling and waving to stabbing someone to death in a split second was walking towards them.

Osamu then realized that Jin didn't appear to have any weapons on him, and the green-eyed student became curious to see the young man's strange ability activate again. He wondered if Arashiyama Unit had witnessed it yet, and if they hadn't, they would be in for one hell of a surprise.

"Yuma Kuga." The boy spoke in a voice that was barely audible from Osamu's distance, although it would make sense that Jin would be able to hear it better. Even so, it was a small, sensitive voice that trembled with each syllable it murmured. "Do you know who that is?"

Jin met the child's wide crimson gaze with his own sky-blue one. Osamu, on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off of the figure, whether he wanted to or not. Meanwhile, Jin ignored the question. "Who are you?"

Then, without any warning, the child looked like he was about to cry, which took the usually calm Jin by surprise. "I-I..." He clenched his fists, and jerked his head up to face Jin with a random burst of courage. "Yuma Kuga? Do you know Yuma Kuga?"

It was most likely a rare event to see Jin confused, and yet, Osamu had witnessed it within about a half an hour of knowing the him. "Are you a Neighbor? Why do you have Trion? Who is _Kuga_?"

The boy's expression suddenly went blank, as if any emotion had suddenly died. "I'm asking you, whois Kuga? What's Neighbors and Trion?"

It was fairly obvious that Jin was having difficulties in attempting to come up with responses on the spot, and that his patience was wearing thin. Either the strange kid was just playing dumb, or something was actually wrong. Jin would ask a question, and the person being asked would respond with another question. The cycle had only begun a few moments ago, and yet it already seemed endless.

"Do you know who you are?" Jin intrigued, speaking slowly, as if he was mocking the child. (Even though he had no intentions to.) "A name? At the least, what are you?"

Osamu, after about thirty seconds or so of mental preparation, spoke up before the fluffy-haired boy could reply to Jin's question. "D-Do you have any memory?"

Jin looked back at Osamu from over his shoulder. "Oh? Good thinking, Four-Eyes."

"I don't-" He stopped almost instantly when he noticed Jin walking up to him, and his cherry eyes became round as he looked up at the considerably taller man.

Osamu couldn't see Jin's face, but he was willing to bet that the Tamakoma leader looked nothing short of terrifying.

Jin lifted an eyebrow, towering over the kid - who couldn't be anything more than five feet tall, for that matter - with a facial expression that screamed, 'I'll probably stab you if you don't give me a straight answer this time'. "Amnesia, then?"

The child lowered his head, and even from where he stood, Osamu could tell that he was fighting back tears. "I... I don't know who I am..." His hands were shaking, and Osamu hoped, for the mysterious kid's own sake, that Jin looked sympathetic.

He was probably wrong.

Out of nowhere, Jin swung a fist into the child's gut, and the minuscule boy's face was flooded with a sudden shock, before going completely limp, his mouth hanging open ever so slightly. Jin followed with a sharp blow to the boy's head, which, after wobbling around for a second or two, resulted in the child collapsing to the ravaged ground.

"J-Jin!" Shiori was staring at him, and was speaking on behalf of all the people who were at a complete loss for words. Which was everyone else, by the way. "The hell was that?"

Jin picked up the child and flung the small body over his shoulder, then turned to face the blank-faced Tamakoma group. "Osamu's right; I don't think this kid has any memory. Either that or he's a Neighbor sent to kill us. It would be better to knock him out now, restrain him for precautionary measures, and proceed to interrogate him then."

Kazama, as expected, just scowled at him for it, but on the opposite end of the spectrum, Tachikawa broke out laughing. "Damn, you're too harsh. Poor guy."

Shiori looked from Jin to Tachikawa, giving each of them the 'mom' glare. "Honestly, it's just a kid. Even if he _was_ a Neighbor, one of them couldn't hold a candle to you alone, Jin."

"You can't be too careful," Jin countered, grinning back at her. "In a world like this, anything is possible."

Tachikawa lifted his eyebrows, facing Jin in the way a thirteen year-old would in one of those junior high arguments you'd see in a health class video about bullying. "Jin, half the time you sound like an anime protagonist giving an inspirational speech. Or, maybe antagonist-"

Jin pretended to be hurt, and hilariously staggered around like a cat who had just stepped on a wooden floor for the first time. "You're so mean, Tachikawa!" Really, it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic. He dragged the last syllable of Tachikawa's name out as long as he could go without taking a breath, which made Shiori and Izumi crack up. Kazama didn't have much of a reaction, Tachikawa went to scold Jin like a brother would, and Osamu just stared at everyone, dumbfounded.

"So you're taking _another_ unconscious kid back with us?" Kazama challenged Jin, bringing his hand to his forehead.

"Even _you_ can admit that this one could prove to be good for something," Jin replied in a teasing manner, although what he said was most likely true. "Amatori, on the other hand, isn't a main priority, if a priority at all. If we run in to trouble, we're not going to stress over getting her to safety."

Osamu felt anger swamp his senses like a wildfire at Jin's comment on Chika. Once again, the man and deemed her life as nothing to be concerned by. Osamu didn't say anything, being well aware that, at this point, Jin and the Tamakoma people were his most reliable source of protection from the Neighbors.

Osamu's gaze, no matter what he did to avoid this, always traveled back to the tiny body flung over Jin's shoulder. His sleeping face looked so peaceful, which was, basically, the exact opposite of what he had looked like when conscious.

"H-Hey, just a quick question, h-how do we get out of here?" Osamu's words were choppy and his voice shook, not to mention that he was still involuntarily staring at the powder-headed child.

Shiori was the one who answered him, and Izumi had looked like he had wanted to provide a reply as well, but let his colleague speak. "Jin and Kazama both know how to hot-wire a car, as well as a bunch of people who are back at Tamakoma, so we have a few abandoned military vehicles at the base. We've got a Jeep-ish thing somewhere up ahead."

"Isn't that illegal?"

This time, it was Izumi who answered, with a couple seconds of uncontrolled laughter. "Our entire _existence_ is illegal. Especially Jin. Okay, definitely Jin."

"You're always falling behind," Tachikawa sighed loudly before Osamu responded, and for a moment, he had thought it was directed at him. "Izumi. Walk faster." He grabbed the blonde man by the ear and dragged him along, which almost made Osamu chuckle.

"You too, Osamu." Shiori waved him over as she began to walk after Jin and the others. "We won't be walking long."

"R-Right..." Osamu's voice trailed off as he used his absolutely graceful half-limp, half-walk to follow Shiori.

Shiori had been right about the fact that Jin's stolen car - or rather, the 'Jeep-ish' thing - wasn't very far from where they stood; he had said that it would only about a ten minute walk. Personally, Osamu was extremely surprised that they were able to walk any longer than five minutes without being attacked.

They lasted about nine minutes, actually.

Their only method of effective transportation was in eyesight, only about a hundred meters away. Osamu began to feel the stress of awaiting an attack that had not yet come being lifted from him, but he had no way of knowing that it was far too soon to be feeling that way.

A four-story building, already rotting away from years of neglect, suddenly fell over as if it were a tiny obstacle in the path of something massive. Rubble flew everywhere, and the ground shook from the impact of the abandoned structure. As it came down, a terrifying creature crashed through it like a bowling ball flying through its set of organized pins. In Osamu's eyes, it resembled a giant spider. He had a phobia of spiders.

"W-What is that thing?" Osamu felt himself backing away on shaky legs, and he couldn't take his eyes off of the monster, despite how much he wanted to turn and run for the hills.

Then, it spotted them.

It didn't look like it had a face, but there was an 'eye' of some sort located in its mouth-like structure. The eye focused on Jin and his followers, before the creature made a huge jump towards them as it prepared itself for some form of an attack.

"Usami!" Osamu shouted at the person closest to him, not understanding how she (and pretty much everyone else) was able to stand there with a calm expression.

Jin dropped the child in a split second, and in the same moment, Osamu saw the strange, unexplained blades shoot out of the young man's sleeves. All this time, the student had been wondering where they came from; whether they were a part of Jin's body, or somehow built into his jacket.

Osamu watched in sheer awe as Jin, the same, luminous pale green markings appearing on the lines of his major veins, charged at the creature at a speed that very few people could match. The spider-like animal brought one of its "legs", a long, silver blade attached to its armored flesh, down in an attempt to injure its attacker. On the defensive side, Jin skillfully used the arm as something that he could use to boost himself up to the creature's eye. He planted a foot down on it, with balance that looked like it was as close as you could get to being flawless, and threw himself into the air.

Jin, with a jump that sent him flying one or two feet above the creature, landed right in front of its mouth, and his position made Osamu's heart skip a beat. Pulling his left arm back as if to fire an arrow, Jin stabbed a wound straight through it's eye, obviously knowing beforehand how to take one of the creatures down. It went by so fast, and based off of everyone's relaxed expressions, Jin had done it before.

"Good thing it didn't crush the car," Jin commented, the blades sliding back into his sleeves, and his skin and eyes returning to normal.

"Jin, w-what was that thing?" Osamu nervously spoke to the man for the first time since they had left the shelter of the walls. "Why did it attack us?"

At the same time, a petrified Arashiyama Unit had their own questions to ask. Arashiyama, Kitora, and Tokieda were all pointing their guns at Jin with terrified faces, while Ken, his skills as a sniper not a threat to Jin at this distance, stood a step or so behind the rest of his squad, in a close-range fighting stance.

"W-What?" Arashiyama couldn't take his eyes off of Jin, who was obviously expecting the squad's reaction. "What was that? You said we could trust you!"

Jin smiled at him warmly, while bending down quickly to pick up the limp child lying a few feet away. "Ah, I guess I forgot to mention that. Although, I haven't explained crap to Four-Eyes yet, and he's probably way more confused than you guys are."

Kitora turned to Osamu at Jin's mention of him, attempting in vain to mask her horror with a cold glare. Even though it was clearly false, Osamu still couldn't look the female soldier in the eye without flinching.

"E-Explain what the hell I just saw!" Arashiyama caught Osamu's attention as he looked away from Kitora, as curious as the squad captain was to learn the science behind Jin's ability. "I'll shoot, I swear!"

Jin waved his free hand, the one not supporting the child, implying that Arashiyama's accusation was incorrect. "No, no, I'm not anything to be scared by! I told you that before, remember?"

Arashiyama's face looked like an unorganized mess of fear and confusion, and sweat was visible on his forehead. "And I told you to explain yourself, before I kill you right here."

Jin laughed nervously, and he was probably impatient to get going. "Now's not a good time-"

"That wasn't a question," Arashiyama snapped, and Osamu wondered if he knew yet that Jin could literally catch bullets, and shooting from right in front of him would be useless. Tokieda had seen it, and it wasn't clear if he had told his captain or not.

"I'm serious." Jin returned the fury with a childish tip of the head, although he wasn't joking. "Talking about stuff like that out in the open isn't safe. You never know who could be listening."

Arashiyama whipped around to interrogate Osamu next, glaring green fire. "Did _you_ know about this?"

Osamu took a step back, his eyes darting back and forth to Jin and Arashiyama. "Well, y-yes, sort of, but I'm just as confused as you are-"

"See?" Jin cut him off, looking somewhat proud that he had proved the soldier wrong. "I already said that."

Arashiyama started to speak - or, well, shout - again, but Kazama stepped between the two men, growing impatient. "Both of you are idiots. Now, before more Trion soldiers show up, I suggest we leave."

Arashiyama just scowled, but did nothing to protest.

"Don't worry." Shiori approached Arashiyama, probably feeling as if she was responsible to reassure him. (Since, well, Jin wasn't doing much about that on his own part.) "Everyone's confused and scared at first, especially when you witness something like that." She smiled at him. "It'll all make sense soon, trust me."

Unexpectedly, Kitora was the one who responded. Although, noticing the look on her face, it was only a matter of time until she joined in. "You honestly expect us to walk away from a field of corpses to see _this_ ," she glared at Jin, "and not have any questions? Personally, I don't know why Arashiyama didn't kill your friend on the spot."

"Remember what I said?" Jin glanced over his shoulder over a head of white, fluffy hair, narrowing his eyes with a teasing smirk. "If you follow the right path, people like you can change the world. All you need to do is recognize that as a vision in order to make it reality."

Kitora gritted her teeth, expecting Arashiyama to counter that himeself. He did, and it seemed all the previous exasperation had left him - for now, at least. "There's nothing that points towards trusting you. We're not standing here because we believed what you said, we're here because it's our duty to fight the Neighbors. And if tagging along with this _Tamakoma_ is the only current way to do that, then that's the path we will take."

Jin raised an eyebrow, and nodded slowly. He did not reply with words, but none were needed. Kitora, with a final scowl of defiance, trudged off behind Kazama, Tokieda, and Ken, while Arashiyama offered Jin a look of, 'You had better know what you're doing, and I'd better get some explanations. Today _._ '

"Osamu, I expect you'll want to be next to Chika?" Jin's voice made Osamu almost jump as he approached the shorter male, the child hanging limply like a rag doll.

"We're leaving, I guess..." Osamu murmured under his breath, but Jin was somehow able to catch it. Osamu unconsciously clenched his fist, and his face was creased in an uncontrollable sense of worry. "Actually _leaving_..."

Jin sighed quietly, brushing the stray strands of hair from his forehead. "You're probably wondering if people inside those walls - your family, more specifically - will live, if my assumption is accurate. To answer the question before it's asked, if they're still somewhat physically able and in good health, there's a chance of them living. I can't tell you if they're going to be the same person as when you saw them last, but in my opinion, seeing them alive is more than enough."

Osamu attempted to keep himself from staring, but it was useless. Jin had responded to a question that hadn't even been spoken yet, and left the would-have-been questioner speechless.

Jin smiled at him, and for the first time, it actually looked honest. "I'm pretty sure that this is one of those moments when reality slaps you across the face." His blue gaze drifted over the ground, which was littered with pebbles that once held a place in skyscrapers, and he wore the most sincere expression Osamu had expected to get out of the man. "Trying to see through your eyes - if you know what I mean - I owe you one hell of an explanation, don't I?" Glancing at Osamu, and expecting a reply that never came, he continued. "Hey, the last thing I want is to see a kid scared. Sorry if you're feeling forced into this, really."

"U-Um, I-" Osamu truly had no idea what to say, and he shook his head in a rapid motion as he stopped mid-sentence. Still, he remained silent.

Jin, after a couple of seconds, decided that Osamu wouldn't be saying anything else anytime soon. Accepting the short-lived response he got, Jin waved Arashiyama over.

"Same goes to you, Arashiyama." Jin's eyes drifted over the four soldiers, his voice softened by sympathy. However, this time, it was difficult to tell if the emotion was false or not. "Bear with me here, you'll get what you came for soon enough."

Arashiyama's stone-cold look did not change, although his voice wasn't as infuriated as before. "I expect an explanation," he muttered, trying for the first time to meet Jin's gaze. With that, he turned back to his squad mates, who were looking angry or terrified. Or perhaps both.

"Osamu, you don't mind keeping an eye on the white-haired kid - I guess we'll call him Yuma - for now, do you?" Jin asked the question plainly, losing any scrap of empathy he may have had in the few seconds before. "Like, you don't have to carry him or anything, just see if he wakes up in the car."

"Y-Yeah, sure..." Osamu stuttered, his mind alive with an infinite amount of clashing emotions, not even certain that the words he spoke were his own. "A-And what if he wakes up?"

Jin froze for a couple of seconds. "Well, er... I won't drive, then. Just tell me if that happens."

Osamu sighed inwardly. Jin's mood seemed to change more often than it probably should, and shifted the group's aura along with it. He was certainly 'something else', at the very least.

In the back of his mind, Osamu wondered when Chika would wake up, and what her reaction would be. (To Jin's entire existence, especially.) He was still being dragged down by the thought of his mother, dead or not dead, Tamakoma as a whole - as well as their inhuman ideas of a future outside of the walls - and the ominous presence of Yuma Kuga, if that's what they were calling the boy for now. There was no way he was older than twelve, which only made it all the more confusing as to why, in _any_ situation, he would be seemingly stranded outside of Mikado District in the middle of a battle.

In the hands of those who dared to defy fate, this is where humanity's future began.


	8. Welcome to Hell, Have a Gift Basket

Osamu stared at a dull, gray ceiling, sitting (somewhat) comfortably for the first time in what seemed like his entire life, but in reality, was a mere couple of hours. A dull ache throbbed in the back of his head, but it was fairly easy to block out. However, the stone-hard wall his upper half was leaning against certainly did nothing to help this minor issue, but even so, Osamu continued to look up into nothingness.

His injuries, too, had became a blurred, secondary sense that took nearly no effort to ignore. Although if he tried to move out of his current position, it would probably be a different story. But for now, he was safe and taken care of, which was more than enough.

Osamu was sitting up in a small bed, one that looked a bit worn but served it's purpose more than excellently, inside a cramped room within what Jin had dubbed as the Tamakoma base. The room looked like it had originally been a storage area for whoever had been the prior inhabitants of the abandoned military structure, but had been later turned into a medical office of some sort. There were four small fold-out beds, or as some people would rather call cots, three of which were occupied by Osamu, Chika, and Yuma Kuga. As he surveyed his surroundings once again, Osamu was the only one conscious.

The ride from Mikado District to Tamakoma had taken somewhere around an hour, as Jin estimated it would, the only conversation being between Jin himself, Tachikawa, Izumi, and Shiori. This was, actually, about half - more than that, if you were to exclude the two unconscious passengers - of the people in the vehicle. However, Osamu had only spoken when spoken to, and Kazama, on the other hand, said even less than that, and most of the time it was reminding Tachikawa that everyone was quite close to him and not to scream bloody murder when the windows were rolled up. It was surprising that neither Chika nor Yuma had been disturbed by the noise.

With that thought, Osamu's gaze fell on the sleeping Yuma, then Chika, and then back to Yuma once more. He had been repeatedly going through this procedure for the past thirty minutes, not-very-patiently waiting for one or the other to wake up. He was far less concerned about Chika now, thankfully, due to Shiori doing what she could while the girl was unconscious to secure her life. Shiori had also looked at Yuma, and he had no visible injuries, aside from a bruise on his stomach and a slight bump on the back of his head, both locations where Jin had hit him.

Osamu jumped at the sudden sound of the room's thick door being swung open, and turned his attention away from the younger kids to see Jin standing in the entryway, with a second person whom Osamu had never seen before. The boy, appearing to be much younger than Jin, had a somewhat similar, light brown hair color to him, and bright green eyes that matched Tamakoma's unusual cheerful atmosphere.

"Ooh, you're Osamu?" He smiled at his 'guest', who pushed his glasses up awkwardly rather than replying right away. "Or, Mikumo, sorry. Can I call you Osamu? I'm fine with either-"

"He's Shun Midorikawa," Jin introduced his companion before the younger male lost his breath from speaking at the speed he was doing so, but he still looked disappointed at being so abruptly cut off. "He was jealous earlier because he believed you guys were getting special treatment."

Midorikawa's face instantly turned bright red, and Osamu cracked a smile at his reaction. "J-Jin! I was not!"

Osamu chuckled at the boy's childishness, briefly scratching the back of his head. "Osamu is fine," he answered the original question, not wanting to sound rude by turning Midorikawa down, although the 'rude' one would probably be the opposite of what Osamu would typically think.

"And those two," Midorikawa pointed towards the other patients, "Chika and... _Yuma_ , right?"

"Chika Amatori and Yuma Kuga," Jin replied, nodding, and Osamu found himself looking at his cousin and the strange boy again. "I don't know about Chika, but I assume Yuma will come to soon."

"How soon?" Osamu asked rapidly before Midorikawa could speak, but the evergreen-eyed boy didn't seem to have a problem with it.

Jin looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds. "Um, let me think...? Twenty minutes maybe?"

" _Twenty minutes?"_

Osamu and Midorikawa exclaimed in at the exact same time, mouths open and eyes going wide at the answer they got. "S-Seriously?" Osamu stammered, expecting it to have been at _least_ a few hours.

"She didn't have any bad head injuries," Jin laughed, clearly amused with their response. "And besides, that's just a guess. It could take days, for all we know."

"Still, though..." Osamu muttered under his breath, adjusting his glasses yet again. "I expected something more... lengthy, I guess."

"It could be," Jin mused, cleaning his sunglasses with his jacket sleeve. "I don't know much about medical stuff, but-"

"H-Hey, Jin!" Midorikawa burst out of nowhere, and his tone possessed a sudden urgency that made Osamu nervous. "Chika - I think she might be waking up?"

Jin smiled. "Certainly a convenient timing, if she is." He moved away from Osamu's bed, not acknowledge Yuma whatsoever, to join Midorikawa by Chika's side. Osamu, knowing he would probably get scolded but didn't really care, forced himself out of the blankets and hobbled over to join them. Jin lifted an eyebrow at his presence, but said nothing, and Midorikawa was focused on Chika and may have not even noticed.

Midorikawa was certainly observant if he was able to notice the slight twitching of Chika's eyelids, and of you paid even closer attention, you could notice her hands shaking under the light blanket. If she wasn't waking up, she was dreaming, which was one step closer to consciousness.

Midorikawa grinned and raised his eyebrows. "What do you plan to say?"

It wasn't clear whether the question was directed at Osamu or Jin, but the blue-eyed man answered first anyway. "An explanation," Jin laughed. "The poor thing will be terrified."

 _Speaking of, you still owe me an explanation_ , Osamu wanted to mutter, but now wasn't exactly a generally good time, especially if Chika did regain her senses. When they had arrived at the base, Jin ordered Osamu, Chika, and Yuma to receive medical attention, without taking the time to show Osamu where he had ended up, nor offering the science behind everything he had displayed so far.

Shiori and the other woman who had tended to their new permanent guests - Maru, if Osamu remembered her name correctly - wouldn't let him move about freely until he was completely capable of walking, and if either one saw him standing over Chika, he would have to give them an explanation of his own.

"Well, there you have it," Jin announced out of the blue, and when Osamu turned to face him, his face was bright with an unexpected satisfaction. Definitely not an emotion one would think he would be feeling at this time, even more so if his obvious viewpoint on Chika's presence was brought into the picture.

Chika's eyes opened in the slightest, tired and dull, and they remained like this for the next few seconds, as the three people surrounding her waited in a silence that made Osamu's heart race.

As the girl's violet eyes began to open, widening at the same time, Osamu let out the breath he hadn't been aware that he was holding. Jin's ridiculous grin just grew with each passing moment, and Midorikawa shared a similar expression. Chika then tilted her head up just enough so it wasn't against the pillow any longer, and Osamu pitied her the second he saw her face fall in a wave of shock.

She had no idea where she was, who she was with, or what had happened since the school was attacked. All in the span of a few hours, but in that short period, more turning points had occurred in the modest Mikado District than ever, and little did Chika know that her life had already started on a new path of it's own.

Osamu had been thinking about what he would say to Chika ever since he had been at Tamakoma, and he hoped it would be enough to convince her of her own safety. He took a breath and prepared to speak, Chika still coming back from unconsciousness, but unfortunately (for Osamu as well as the poor Chika) Jin beat him to it.

"Welcome to Hell, have a complimentary gift basket."

No reaction whatsoever, from _anyone_.

Osamu could swear he had felt his heart stop, but Jin continued to smile at Chika in the carefree way he always did.

 _God dammit, Jin._

And then, after quite the delayed reaction time, Chika responded in the way that anyone would expect her to. Anyone but Yuuichi Jin, that is.

Her eyes looking way too big to even be human, Chika screamed, her horrified stare fixed on Jin, whose face did not change at all. Osamu didn't think it was possible for her to look any paler, after being unconscious especially, but it only took him half of a second to realize he was very wrong.

Midorikawa had clearly been as oblivious as Jin was, (or possibly even more so) jumping back a couple of inches at the sudden, high-pitched storm of noise. Jin did the same thing after a moment, but his terrified expression didn't last nearly as long. Instead, it was a face of sudden realization and shock that said, _Yes, I screwed up. Bad._

Congratulations, Jin, you have now become seven percent _more_ of a dumb walnut than you already were.

"J-Jin! You idiot!" Osamu was making unreadable, frantic motions with his hand, Chika now hyperventilating. "And, C-Chika! Listen to me, I swear-"

Chika's head whipped around, her noticing Osamu's presence for the first time. "O-O-Osamu? _Osamu?"_ She clutched the sheets as far as they could go without tearing, looking like she was on the verge of tears. "W-Where am I-I?"

"Thank God you're okay," Osamu smiled softly for a split second, until his face shifted back over to a chaotic mess of panic and concern. "But you have to listen to me-"

"Sorry, sorry, did I scare you?" Jin laughed, brushing stray pieces of hair from his forehead.

"Of _course_ you did, and-!"

"W-Who is that?" Chika choked out another shaky, terrified question, while Osamu bit his lip at being interrupted by Jin a second time. "Osamu? Who is he?"

"Don't worry, I sort of kn-"

"The name's Jin," Jin laughed, (mostly at himself) grinning at Chika. "Yuuichi Jin. And welcome to Tamakoma-"

"Stop interrupting me!" Osamu felt satisfied as he cut Jin's introduction short, but his concern for Chika wouldn't allow the unexpected pride to show through. "And Chika, please trust me, _you're safe_. I know this man, and nobody here is going to hurt you."

Chika's lip was trembling, much to Osamu's dismay. "W-Where am I?" She repeated, with the same stammer as the first time. Midorikawa continued to stay silent, terrified of scaring the girl further.

"Tamakoma," Osamu and Jin replied in unison, although Osamu made sure to make his voice loud enough to be able to talk over Jin if the brunette decided to say something again. He didn't continue on, which gave Osamu the opportunity to do so.

"They're here to protect us," Osamu told her rapidly, but Jin's low priority on Chika continued to nag him. "And they fight the Neighbors."

"You're Chika, aren't you?" Jin made an attempt at being welcoming, but Chika's eyes grew as she looked at him again.

"Amatori," Osamu corrected under his breath, but Jin rudely took no notice.

Chika visibly tensed, fear repeatedly drowning her features each time Jin spoke. "W-W-What am I doing here?"

"Jin! Who's screaming?"

Seconds after the sing-song voice called out, Shiori pushed the door open, causing Chika to flinch before grasping tighter on to her blanket. Osamu was ultimately relieved that someone other than Jin would be helping him.

Shiori's eyes brightened as she saw Chika awake, despite the obvious fear. "Oh, it's Chika! I'm so glad, I thought I heard screaming and everyone got really worried but we decided that it was probably nothing and-"

"This is Usami," Jin introduced her to Chika, even though Osamu had wanted to do it himself. (Introducing people was the least of his worries, though.) "You'll like her, I think."

"You can call me Shiori!" She smiled and pushed her glasses up cheerfully, stepping over to Chika's bedside.

"What happened?" Chika pressed on, not wanting to socialize with people she had just met. In addition, she was about fifty percent sure she had been kidnapped.

Shiori frowned, instantly recognizing the young girl's distressed tone. "Are you scared?"

Chika just stared at her for a few seconds, dumbfounded. Compared to Jin's terrible first impression, Osamu trying not to panic, and Midorikawa at a total loss for words, Shiori's sympathetic approach was like a gift from the heavens. "I-I... W-What...?"

Shiori sighed lightheartedly, pushing her hair back. "I doubt _Jin_ did much to help, but I'm glad Osamu was here. How are you feeling?"

Jin pouted, crossing his arms in defeat. Based on what Osamu had established so far, Shiori was that one person nobody would argue with, for reasons he was yet to find out. Although, it was likely that she was just a nice person, or simply always right. Either way, she didn't seem like the kind of person who would fight with someone.

"D-Dizzy, I guess..." Chika answered quietly, her gaze now locked on Shiori. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but she paused before speaking again. "...What happened? How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours," Osamu informed her, jumping at the chance to reassure the violet-eyed girl. "A-And as for what happened..." He froze, realizing at once how much what he had to say would affect her. Waking up in a strange place with strange people was bad enough, but to learn that everything you had always been told was safe had crumbled to the ground would break even the strongest soldier, let alone a fourteen year-old girl.

"Do you want to tell her, Osamu?" Jin had come over to the opposite side of Chika's bed, and unexpectedly placed a hand on Osamu's shoulder.

The green-eyed boy looked at him over his shoulder, glad that Jin had not yet offered to provide his own version of the story to Chika. "...Yes. D-Don't worry about it." He would confront him later, but now was not an appropriate setting.

Jin smirked, patting Osamu's head, much to the younger teen's dislike. "I wasn't planning on worrying."

"Osamu?" Chika looked up at him with scared eyes, her complexion still pale.

Osamu inhaled deeply, wanting to leave the entire situation in that moment. Chika was already scared - why did everything have to be so much worse than what she knew of? "What do you remember before you were knocked unconscious?"

Chika narrowed her eyes, and her clenched fists were visible from the edge of the blanket. "N-Neighbors were in the city... when we were at school. That's pretty much it... B-But what happened after that?" Noticing the grim expressions of the people around her, even Jin, her breathing rate quickened. "Osamu? What happened?"

"Chika..." Osamu couldn't bear to make eye contact with her, and he stared at the floor. He tried to speak, and gritted his teeth as he scavenged for something to say.

Jin looked thoughtful, even somewhat sorry for the girl, and he ended up to be the first to reveal the horrific truth to her.

"Mikado District fell."


	9. What the Girl Would Never See

Chika Amatori had never seen herself as a weak person. Rather than weak, more accurate descriptions of the girl would be kind, selfless and sensitive, with evidence to back each trait up. Chika would admit that she _did_ get scared easily, - terrified, even - but in her present situation, anyone else would probably be feeling the same way.

"Mikado District fell."

Chika felt like everything around and within her had stopped with just three words. She involuntarily held her breath as they failed to completely set in, and turned white as a ghost in that instant.

 _That's_ _not_ _true_.

One phrase looped continually in her mind, over and over again until it began to fade into the unwanted truth. Chika told herself, even though a tiny voice in the back of her head pleaded her to stop, that it was a lie. Based on what Jin had already said, he would lie like that, wouldn't he? It would be a cruel, twisted lie to tell, but at the end of the day it was still favorable to reality.

"T-That's not true." Chika voiced her denial, her small voice shaking violently. Even _she_ was aware that she was lying to herself, but absolutely refused to accept it.

Jin glanced at Osamu, who looked almost as horrified as Chika. He gave the younger man a small nod, signaling him to speak. After all, he was really the only person in the room that would actually be able to have even the tiniest chance of calming the girl down.

"That's a lie, isn't it?" Chika raised her voice, her eyes scared and round like mirrored stars. "He's lying, right?"

She looked to Osamu, but the string of hope she had grasped to for dear life was cut as she noticed the terrible, depressing emotions reflected in his face. "Osamu? _What_ _happened_?"

"He's not lying," Osamu replied in a low tone, almost too quiet to understand. "We're lucky to be alive."

Chika felt as if her heart had frozen completely. Everything around her seemed to turn to ice in a split second, and she felt frozen herself, her mouth slightly open in the shock of an obvious realization. She didn't want to believe it - more than anything, Chika Amatori wanted to be sitting in the hot, stuffy classroom at school, and then go home to a cold November evening.

She didn't want this.

Without realizing it at first, Chika felt the warm sense of tears on her face, and gingerly dabbed at her cheek with an uncertain hand. Osamu looked like he was about to say something, but closed his mouth after a couple seconds of hesitation.

"Are you okay?" Shiori was forcing herself to appear smiling, but the guilt hidden behind her eyes was revealed as she spoke. Although, she _was_ truly sorry for the girl, nonetheless.

When Chika didn't answer after a few seconds, Osamu approached her with an extreme caution. "Chika? Are you okay?"

Chika seemed to jolt awake as his voice reached her, lost in a dark corner of her mind with no light to see the world in front of her. She felt embarrassed, crying in front of people she had known for less than ten minutes, but at the same time she thought she wouldn't be able to keep herself stable if there were no other human beings surrounding her.

"W- _Why_ _did this_...?" Chika spoke like she was talking only to herself, and her question would remain unfinished. " _How_...?"

"She'll need some time," Jin whispered in Osamu's ear, careful to keep his words from Chika. "It'll be hard on her."

"Yeah," Osamu agreed softly, more focused on Shiori trying to gently comfort her damaged patient, who was only partially listening. "At least she slept through the worst of it."

Chika noticed the two speaking, but was distracted enough to the point in which she didn't strain herself to listen. On another note, she didn't even think about halting the tears; it would be completely in vain. She buried her face in her hands, muffling the sound of her broken, terrified speech until it took effort to understand. "I-I'm _scared_..."

"Do you want to try and rest?" Shiori offered kindly, placing her hand on Chika's much smaller one. "I doubt you were sleeping peacefully."

She was right, but at the same time she couldn't be more far off - Chika was unable to remember anything from the time she had received the warnings at school, and therefore her sleep wasn't disturbed, but she had felt the exact opposite of well-rested when she came to. "I want to go home," she whimpered, still making feeble attempts to put a mask on Fate.

Jin tapped on Osamu's shoulder, a tiny move that caught Chika's eye. "I think it's best to give her some space," he suggested, although it was more of an order than a suggestion.

 _Why is he giving Osamu orders?_

It was easy to tell that Osamu had been shocked by the very idea of leaving Chika's side, which reassured her in the slightest. "W-What? No way!" He snapped back in a low tone, but it wasn't as quiet as he had probably hoped it would be. "Are you saying to leave her _alone?"_

"Not alone. With Shiori or anyone else who can perform medical care."

Chika wanted to protest, but if anything, she didn't want Osamu to worry about her.

 _He's better off somewhere away from me_.

"No way." Osamu glared up at the taller man, and Chika gaped at the sudden flood of anger that she had rarely seen in him. Osamu was a very obviously kindhearted person, and seeing him become even slightly visibly irritated was a huge warning sign for any onlookers. "I'm staying here."

"Osamu, I should probably try and sleep-" Chika felt awful, seeing herself as a burden, and would put her own personal needs out of the way if it meant Osamu was spared of any excess stress.

"Don't listen to him," Osamu snapped, although it immediately looked like he hadn't intended to sound so infuriated, especially towards Chika. "He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Ah, I just don't think throwing it all at her at once would be the best idea." Jin's voice suddenly took a low, threatening sound as well, and Chika shivered at the extremely clear tension between the two. "And whether you're aware of it or not, you're terrified, Osamu. Anything you say now will come out as terrified." He still wore a smile, although it had morphed into something that just about petrified Chika, and Osamu flinched under the expression as well. "If you're so determined to stay by her side, watch your mouth for the time being."

"Jin." Shiori stared daggers at him from across the cot, and he met the sparkling eyes calmly. Additional words were not needed to prevent a full-scale argument, as Osamu and Jin remained quiet after the black-haired woman spoke a single syllable.

"I just don't want anyone worrying about me." Chika pushed herself to an artificial smile, and falsely laughed along with it.

 _Please_ _don't_ _leave_ _me_ , a little voice screamed in the back of her head. _I'm_ _scared_.

"There's no need to worry," Shiori replied quickly, before Osamu picked up the match to light a conflict with Jin again. "Luckily, you weren't hurt that bad at all. The only thing I can think of that's worth examining again is your head, though."

Osamu stiffened in a split second. "What's wrong with her hea-?"

Shiori sighed, but couldn't stifle the capped laughter. "There's just a little bump. At the worst, she'll need some ice on it."

"...Okay."

"Oh!" Shiori raised her index finger, having remembered a point she was planning to make. "And your clothes are a bit scratched up, so we can find you some new ones. You too, Osamu."

"You really don't need to," Chika informed her politely, although she would honestly love the idea of changing out of her dusty, smoke-stained, and lightly torn school uniform.

"It's no problem at all!" Shiori shook her head, making Chika feel bad for denying the help, even if it _was_ just clothing, that she probably needed. "After so many years, clothes just start building up all over the place."

 _She_ _talks_ _like_ _we'll_ _be_ _here_ _for_ _awhile_ , the little voice said, while Chika fiddled with the edge of the blanket. _…_ _Mikado_ _must_ _have_ _been_ _completely_ _wiped_ _out_.

"If it's really no trouble," she spoke aloud, "th-thank you."

"It's not any trouble, not at all."

Chika had decided almost at once that this "Shiori" person was officially the nicest human being she had come in contact with since she had woken up, (which was only a short while ago, however) probably on par with Osamu. Then again, Midorikawa hadn't said much at all, and Jin was not much competition when it came to general niceness.

Speaking of, Chika's vision fell on Jin for a split second, before he noticed her and she abruptly snatched her gaze away from the man in order to avoid eye contact. Despite the consistent smile, he cast an extremely threatening shadow by simply being in the room. His blue eyes always seemed to be glaring at something that only he could see, although it took an expert combination of sharp attention and fear to notice. Chika had more of one than the other, but it was enough to scare her into an anxious alertness.

She wanted to say something else, but she felt reluctant to be the first one that would break the silence cast upon the cramped space. Osamu adjusted his glasses, a habit that Chika noticed he had upon knowing him very early on, but he didn't seem talkative either.

Chika knew that, in some way or another, her situation would have to be described to her in detail - who was alive and who wasn't, what had happened to Mikado after her departure, and so on. She wished, with such a graceful ignorance, that she could live in a quiet isolation without ever knowing what had become of what she called her home. The girl knew that her terrible plea was impossible to answer, but she was reluctant to face the realization of what destiny had painted out for her.

"Hey, Jin? You're in here, ri-?" At quite the random timing, an unfamiliar man peeked into the room through a crack in the door, which was left slightly ajar. He cut himself off in the middle of his own question as he noticed Chika. "Ah, you're awake? Osamu's cousin!"

"That's Tachikawa." Shiori whispered as Jin waved dully, and Chika's eyes returned to the young woman. "He's a bit of an airhead, to summarize."

The newcomer, _Tachikawa_ , as Chika had been told, looked like he was within a few years of Jin's age, and he had a similar mood to the brunette. He appeared as if he would be nothing short of a friendly person, but in the end, appearances can always deceive.

"Oh yeah, Jin, anyway," his attention was only on Chika for a couple of seconds, "some guy just showed up, and he asked for you. I don't recognize him from Legion or anything and he's not talking, but he wants to see you, he said."

Jin didn't reply instantly, most likely thinking to himself in quite the messy state. "Who was on guard?"

"Rei and Kuma."

"Was the man armed?"

Tachikawa smiled to himself, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think he's a _man_ , actually. He looks kinda young. Ah, and no, he didn't seem to have any weapons on him"

"...Was he searched in the first place?"

"Kou's doing that now, I think. But I doubt the kid's going to let anyone touch him, honestly."

Jin sighed, as if he was already dealing with enough at the moment, and a mysterious stranger was just another issue. "Jeez, what ludicrous timing. Not to mention uncalled for." He glanced at Chika briefly, but he seemed to show more attention towards Osamu. "Kids are appearing all over the place, I suppose." He tapped his chin, eyes brighter than before. "Maybe he's from Mikado, too?"

"I-I can tell you if I know him," Osamu suggested to Jin, but the evident dislike in his voice was perturbing. He turned towards his cousin, and Chika offered a small nod of approval. "Chika might, too."

 _What's going on_...? Chika sighed inwardly, hoping she didn't look nearly as shaky as her mind tricked her into being. _Everything's going too fast_...

"And he _wasn't_ armed?" Jin narrowed his eyes. "Really? Nothing that you could see plainly, at least?"

"Yeah, nothing." Tachikawa nodded slowly, briefly pausing to take a second glance at Chika. "I haven't the slightest idea how some kid would be able to survive on his own out in that wasteland, but he insists that he's alone. That's all he'll tell us, and it's really annoying how-"

"H-Hey, stop! You bastard, do we have to tie you up?"

In unison, the five heads in the room looked towards the open door in response to a woman's abrupt shouting, and then the thundering of running footsteps that followed. As an impulsive reaction, Chika bit the inside of her cheek subconsciously, and flinched seconds later as she tasted the sharp flavor of her own blood.

Jin was the first to move, walking closer to the door that continued to shed a faint light into the small room. Chika was surprised to see him jump at yet another yelling voice, although she did the same. She could barely make out what was being said, but a phrase or so occasionally slipped through, despite it being entirely shouting. Nobody in Chika's sight said a word, far too focused on their attempts to understand what was going on outside.

Out of nowhere, the footsteps slowed instantly, until they morphed into more of the sound of someone dragging their feet across the metal floor. It felt as if no time had passed at all when a panting figure was standing in the doorway, one that right away caught the stares of everyone around him, while also attracting a cold glare from Jin. Quick enough before a word was uttered, however, a brown-haired young woman appeared behind the stranger, looking like she too was out of breath.

Chika could imagine that any ounce of color had drained from her face. The unnamed woman was holding a handgun at the back of her target's head, sweat visible on her face even from where Chika lay, while the strange man's expression was completely neutral. Bored, even.

Unsurprisingly, Jin spoke first. Blue eyes became narrowed as his gentle smile was swapped with a dark frown, and his facial expression undoubtedly said more than his words did. "Yuuko, and...? What's going on? Who the hell is _this_?"

The woman, whom Chika guessed was probably named Yuuko, was grimacing angrily as if she was in some sort of pain - probably more annoyance, though. "This asshole just showed up at our front door acting all cool or shit, and-"

"Shut up." The deadpan-faced man didn't even so much glance at the readied firearm behind his head, and his dull blue eyes stared at Jin in a strange coldness that could not yet be explained. "For the last damn time, I didn't drag myself all the way here to shoot up the place."

Jin met the glare with a terrifying look of his own, and the heated buildup within the room spiked in response to just that. "Oh, we've got a bit of an attitude here, don't we? Do you care to explain yourself, kid? We're a bit busy here, as you can probably tell."

"I don't, to be honest. Not to you. Who's in charge here?"

Jin frowned, and sweat dripped down Chika's face as huge eyes took in the scene around her. "Surprise, smartass, but that would be me. I don't think you have the right to be asking questions, though. Who are you?"

When the stranger didn't answer instantly, only gaping at Jin for a few seconds, Shiori decided to cut in herself. "He's probably related to Yuma, somehow. This timing couldn't be more convenient."

"Maybe even Osamu and Chika, as well?" Midorikawa chirped in eagerly, despite his quietness before. "And Arashiyama? Seriously, new people usually only appear once a month if even that, and now four - no, four plus an entire squad - of them show up out of the blue?"

"Yeah, it's weird," Jin agreed, looking away from the unnamed man and Yuuko for a few moments. "You're not sneaky, kid. And Osamu, do you happen to know this guy?"

Chika turned the angle of her head to see her older cousin, who looked shockingly more nervous than she did. "N-No, I've never seen him before. I swear," he added after a pause.

"Oh, he swears," Jin smirked at his little 'house guest' darkly. "Have you got a history with the albino shrimp, then?"

"It's a coincidence," the man insisted, and he seemed like he was the only person in the room that wasn't feeling a threat from the gun aimed at his head. "I'm from Shizuka! I wasn't involved in the last attack, wherever it was!"

"Shizuka District was attacked about two months ago, wasn't it?" Tachikawa had taken a step forward, still remaining behind Jin. "You should be dead, if not one of those Neighbor slaves."

"I escaped the walls before getting caught." Out of nowhere his expression sunk instantly, and his crystalline eyes dropped lower towards the floor in a thick wave of unspoken emotions that Chika could only describe as lucid sadness. "With my father and sister."

Jin wasn't buying the story, not in the tiniest bit. "...And they are? Deceased?"

The man bit his lip, which was a sudden change in the monotone character he had displayed so far. "Both dead. They were killed saving me. Dad died inside the city, and Marit outside the walls."

"'Marit' is your sister, I assume?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Your name is?"

"Hyuse."

" _Last_ name?"

"...Ellin."

Jin already looked done with the entire situation, or, at the least, tired. "That doesn't sound Japanese - where are you from, kid?"

"If I told you my name, don't call me 'kid'." Hyuse, continuing to talk as if there were no weapon that could fill the tiny gap between him and his deathbed, was pouting like the 'kid' Jin assumed he was. "I'm sixteen, that's not a kid. And my father was involved in the soldier transfer thing, from Norway. In case you didn't know, the government has been trying to send survivors from other areas overseas in order to make contact with-"

"Of course we know that. After all, who do you think we are?" He held his hand behind his head, chuckling lightly. "Oh, and you're still younger than me," Jin contradicted Hyuse's claim, his tone shifting from black to white yet again. "And don't stall. Answer me." He paused for a breath, and offered his attention to the 'Yuuko' woman, although he called her by what Chika guessed was her family name. "Kumagai, run through the Shizuka database and find 'Ellin'. See if he's in there."

 _They have access to that...? Whatever it is_.

Kumagai refused to drop her guard, and in fact, she only tensed further. "J-Jin! I can't leave _him_ -!"

"Drop the gun," Jin laughed, twirling a strand of hair around his index finger. " _I'll_ keep an eye on him. Everyone is busy right now, after all. Hey, Usami, you'll keep an eye on Yuma and Chika, right? I dunno where Maru is, but she'll show up eventually."

 _Osamu can help, too... and I think I'm fine, anyway_...

"Go on, Kuma." Jin lifted a hand and waved her away with his fingers, while approaching Hyuse with an overconfident grin. Chika could clearly see the stress reflected in the younger man's eyes, almost making her pity him, but in reality, she had no idea what he was doing here or what type of personality he held. Then again, she didn't have much of an idea of what she was doing at Tamakoma herself.

As Kumagai reluctantly hid her weapon and dragged her feet down the corridor out of Chika's sight, with an expression unchanged Jin patted Hyuse's shoulder like an old friend would, which was an action that made the brunette flinch. "You'll come along with me, won't you? The'll be bad things for you if you misbehave."

"I wasn't planning on doing anything," Hyuse muttered like an insolent child that had been scolded, an attitude that was suggesting he wasn't really as cold as he tried to be. "You can search whatever computer you want, but I'm not lying."

"We'll see, then, won't we?"

"I don't care if you interrogate me, but I'd like to talk to-"

Jin cut him off at once, now tugging at the hood of Hyuse's crow-colored sweater. "Oh, can't we save your questions for later? There's other matters to attend to with you."

Hyuse didn't respond orally, and his only reaction was, in fact, the continuous scowl. Without another word, (from anyone, that is) being dragged by his sleeve, he was pulled out of the room forcefully by a somewhat impatient-looking Jin.

And then, just as fast as it had begun, it was over.

"...What was that about?" Osamu uttered quietly once the still air became uncomfortable, while he, along with everyone else, stared at the open door in which Jin, Hyuse, and Kumagai had gone through.

"To be honest," Shiori answered when it seemed like nobody apart from her would, "I have no idea." She laughed merrily to herself afterwards, adjusting her glasses with a tiny bounce. "I mean, we really do only get new people here on very rare occasions, and it's even rarer when they show up at our doorstep."

"She's right," Tachikawa agreed as he turned towards the exit, probably going to follow Jin momentarily. "That white-haired kid was strange enough, and now we have this 'Hyuse' person that claims he's from Shizuka."

"Jin'll get it out of him soon enough!" Midorikawa added, sounding similar to a person who would be boasting about something, which was a bit concerning.

"Well, Chika, do you think you need to be looked at again?" Shiori changed the subject of conversation suddenly, for various and unspoken reasons. "Are you hurting anywhere?"

"N-No, it's not worth any trouble," Chika informed her, shocked at how quickly they all could stray from the topic of Hyuse. "I'm alright now."

"Tired, I assume?"

"Y-Yeah, a little bit."

The young woman patted Chika's bedside kindly, a gentle smile spread across her face as she did so. "We'll leave you for now, then. You really should sleep - I mean, I doubt being unconscious counts as being well-rested. Is that okay?"

"Oh, it's fine." The dark-haired girl nodded quickly, her expression almost identical to Shiori's. "You all have things to do."

"W-Wait a minute," Osamu spoke before Shiori received the chance to, the typical ' _I'm worried for your own good'_ face covering his usually vibrant green eyes. "Shouldn't you at least check her, because-!"

"I trust Chika's judgement." Shiori's voice, amusingly, was like that of a mother scolding her children. "You should, as well. And besides, you need to go and meet everyone, right?"

"W-Well, I just-"

"I'm okay, Osamu." Chika blinked at him before he could vocalize his stress any more, while unsuccessfully trying to push down the strand of hair atop her head that never seemed to go flat. "Really."

"If you say so," he grumbled, although not convinced. "But if anything seems off, at all, make sure you call someone!"

Chika couldn't hold down a small laugh, and she was glad the sullen mood had slightly begun to fade. She hoped that this atmosphere would last, and she hoped it would never return to the fear and confusion that had taken its place minutes before. However, somewhere deep inside the darker areas of her mind, the poor girl knew her wishes were impossible to make true, despite any efforts she was brave enough to make.

… _Where am I?_


	10. Reboot Info!

Guess who's back?

I'm soooo sorry that I left this fic abandoned for so long, especially since Yuma and Hyuse had just showed up! But, good news good news, I've begun planning a reboot of this story and am excited to share it with you guys! When it's released I'll delete this "chapter" lol, but you can look forward to seeing it sometime in the future. :D There will be some major changes indeed, but all with hopes of making the story better, and I hope you'll agree! ^^

I'm definitely surprised that people continued to read this fic even with it having not been updated in quite awhile, so thank you for sticking with me all this time, it really means a lot!


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